Yesterday I walked the Cape Baily Track in the Botany Bay National Park, and the highlight was reaching Cape Baily Lighthouse. The walk itself is excellent, following the coastline through heathland with uninterrupted ocean views for much of the way. Despite being so close to Sydney, it feels surprisingly remote, and the lighthouse is a rewarding destination towards the end of the track.
Cape Baily Lighthouse has been guiding ships since 1950 and is still an active navigation aid today. Unlike many of Australia's historic stone lighthouses, it has a simple square concrete design, giving it a distinctive modern look. It was built to help ships travelling north stay on a safe course close to the coast and avoid offshore currents. I enjoyed the sense of isolation as much as the lighthouse itself. With no roads leading to it and nothing but rugged coastline and the Pacific Ocean surrounding it, it's an ideal place to stop, take in the scenery and appreciate one of Sydney's lesser-known lighthouses.
