Beach life is part of the Sydney way of life, and located only 40 minutes from the centre of the city is the idyllic seaside suburb of Cronulla Beach. With spectacular waterways on three sides - Botany Bay to the north, the Pacific Ocean to the east and to the south the Port Hacking river, which borders onto one of Australia's cleanest and most natural national parks - Cronulla is easily one of Sydney's most desirable locations.

Located in the Sutherland Shire, Cronulla Beach and the surrounding area offers a wide variety of things to do and see: Sutherland Shire is located at the southern coastal border of the Sydney metropolitan region. It covers an area of 370 sq. kms & has a population of 206,000 (1997 estimate), making it one of the largest council areas by population in Australia. Geography of the area ranges from beaches, wetlands, bays and rivers, to tablelands dissected by deep river valleys and gorges.

It was this coastline that James Cook sailed the HM Bark Endeavour on his voyage of exploration in 1770. He anchored at the northern end of what is now Sutherland Shire near Kurnell making this area the birthplace of modern Australia. Cook went ashore on April 29, 1770 at a spot now within the Captain Cook's Landing Place, part of the Botany Bay National Park. One of his crew, Forby Sutherland, died there and was buried on the shore. Cook named a nearby headland Point Sutherland after him.

Within Sutherland Shire lies the Royal National Park, the first gazetted national park in the world. There are over 150 km of walking tracks giving access to the park. Here you can walk the coast for magnificent cliff-top views, or experience the diversity of habitats, including heath, rainforests, open woodlands and estuarine systems.