Itinerary
Overview
Discover some of the richest Aboriginal culture in one of the most iconic harbour cities. This itinerary is a great introduction to Sydney’s ancient Aboriginal rock art and rich cultural sites. You don’t have to travel far from the modern city centre to find the story of Sydney’s first inhabitants.
Read more about Itinerary: Sydney's cultural heritage
Learn about the people who fished and foraged along Sydney’s craggy sandstone coastline and around its huge natural harbour. Imagine the rhythms of their lives on heritage walking trails and see their Dreaming myths illustrated in stencils and rock engravings.
It’s a 30-minute drive from Sydney’s centre to Kamay Botany Bay National Park, where Kurnell Peninsula is famous as the place Captain Cook landed in 1770. Learn about the Aboriginal people who lived here for thousands of years before his arrival on Burrawong walk. It tells of their cultural traditions and how the area’s abundant seafood – oysters, snapper and mullet – brought various groups together. Discover their story in more detail at the Laperouse Museum, and when you’ve worked up an appetite, grab a bite and coffee at Kurnell Visitor Centre.
Kamay Botany Bay National Park is located at La Perouse and Kurnell in Sydney. Discover its rich Aboriginal culture, explore Captain Cook's Landing Place, spot native plants on a bushwalk or whales at Cape Solander.
Park entry fees apply in the Kurnell area only.
Take an easy stroll along Burrawang walk in the Kurnell area of Kamay Botany Bay National Park. Enjoy several historic sites and bronze sculptures of Aboriginal significance. A large section of this walk is wheelchair-accessible.
Housed in a heritage building at La Perouse in Sydney's south, the La Perouse Museum documents the expedition of French explorer the Comte de Laperouse.
Kurnell Visitor Centre is closed to visitors because a new visitor centre is being built in 20201-2022. You can still contact Visitor Centre staff for maps, history and advice by email or phone.
Drive north over Sydney Harbour Bridge and past Sydney’s northern beaches to Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. The Basin track and Mackeral track and Aboriginal heritage walk from the Resolute picnic area weave past ancient Aboriginal rock engravings. You’ll see mysterious ‘pecked petroglyphs’ which date back more than a thousand years and depict men and women in various Dreaming stories. Take a walk along Red Hands trail, where you’ll see red ochre stencils, thousands of years old.
Located in Sydney's north, Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park combines important history with scenic beauty, making it perfect for school excursions. Bobbin Head is a great place for a family picnic, and parts of the park are ideal for cycling, fishing and bushwalking.
Park entry fees apply.
The Basin track and Mackerel track offer stunning ocean views, as well as one of Sydney's best Aboriginal Art sites. You can also enjoy a picnic and swim, or catch a ferry to other scenic spots on Pittwater.
Take the fascinating Aboriginal Heritage walk highlighting rock art and engravings of the Aboriginal people of West Head in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park.
Resolute picnic area in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park is ideal for barbecues in the bush and is positioned near ancient Aboriginal rock art and buswalking tracks.
