Whale watching platform at Cape Solander

Cape Solander, within Kamay Botany Bay National Park, Kurnell, is a spectacular site and receives over 200,000 local, domestic and international visitors each year. It provides a great spot to look for whales from May to July each year and is also the starting point for the popular Cape Baily Track.

Cape Solander is an exposed location subject to substantial wind and salt spray, and the materials were chosen to be more resilient to the corrosive environment.

What are we doing?

The new whale watching infrastructure is now complete. We have improved visitor access and safety by constructing a new accessible whale watching platform with larger viewing areas, better pedestrian access and new interpretation. We have also improved the parking areas and safety barriers and provided a new footpath from the parking area to the whale watching platform.

The project complements and promotes the scenic values of the national park and is consistent with the National Heritage listing of the site.

In October 2023 the project was awarded the Landscape Architecture Award for Tourism at the 2023 National Landscape Architecture Awards. You can read what the jury said about the project on Landscape Australia’s awards website.

This followed the NSW Award of Excellence for Tourism at the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) Landscape Architecture Awards in June 2023. You can view our entry in AILA’s awards gallery.

Project stages and timeframes

In 2020, the National Parks and Wildlife Service engaged landscape architects Oculus to design a more durable and accessible whale watching platform that would meet visitor needs, withstand the harsh corrosive environment and improve visitor safety.

Construction commenced in mid-2021 but was affected by the COVID-19 crisis, its subsequent impact on the availability of sub-contractors and materials, and the significant weather events of the past year.

We are pleased to advise that the project is complete, and Cape Solander Road has been reopened.

Protecting park values

The Kamay Botany Bay National Park plan of management (2019) and the Kamay Botany Bay National Park: Kurnell Precinct master plan aim to provide enriching and memorable experiences in the park, improve access to the park for all, and contribute to the goal of easy and safe transport to and within the park.

Where else can I go to look for whales?

During the annual whale migration, you can spot them from lookouts along the entire coastline of Sydney. Check out some other top whale watching locations around Sydney.