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Budj Bim Full Day Tour: Explore World Heritage Sites through Gunditjmara Eyes
4.9
98 Ratings
Breakaway Creek
Immerse yourself in the vibrant Indigenous culture and explore the World Heritage listed sites of Budj Bim through the eyes of the Gunditjmara people. Discover the ancient aquaculture networks, stone traps, and natural wonders on this full-day tour.
Immerse yourself in the vibrant Indigenous culture and explore the World Heritage listed sites of Budj Bim through the eyes of the Gunditjmara people. Discover the ancient aquaculture networks, stone traps, and natural wonders on this full-day tour.
Duration:
8 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Tae Rak Aquaculture Centre and Cafe - Gather at the Tae Rak Aquaculture Centre to meet the guide and commence the tour.
- C176 - The Gunditjmara cultural guide will lead visitors to a historic stone house used by Gunditjmara men, a stone wall art installation, and a lava flow area featuring two weirs and a dam for trapping and holding kooyang….
- Tae Rak Aquaculture Centre and Cafe - Gather at the Tae Rak Aquaculture Centre to meet the guide and commence the tour.
- C176 - The Gunditjmara cultural guide will lead visitors to a historic stone house used by Gunditjmara men, a stone wall art installation, and a lava flow area featuring two weirs and a dam for trapping and holding kooyang. Travel approximately 20 minutes to the next destination.
- Budj Bim National Park - Discover the Budj Bim volcanic crater, now known as Lake Surprise, during a guided bush walk. Explore the lava tunnels and a cave. Travel about 20 minutes to the Tae Rak Aquaculture Centre for a light lunch.
- Lake Condah - Enjoy lunch at the Tae Rak Aquaculture Centre cafe.
- Lake Condah - Embark on an enlightening guided walk with the Gunditjmara cultural guide to explore the Tae Rak Aquaculture Centre, Lake Condah, and ancient eel traps. This area offers breathtaking wetland views and abundant wildlife, including native birds. Travel around 20 minutes to the next location.
What's Included
- Snacks provided
- Lunch included
- Air-conditioned transportation
- Snacks provided
- Lunch included
- Air-conditioned transportation
What's Not Included
- Gratuities
- Gratuities
Additional Information
Discover a vibrant Indigenous culture and the region’s heritage, as you are introduced to the World Heritage listed sites through Gunditjmara eyes.See how the Budj Bim lava flows enabled the Gunditjmara to develop one of the largest and oldest aquaculture networks in the world. Composed of channels, dams and weirs, they are used to contain floodwaters…
Discover a vibrant Indigenous culture and the region’s heritage, as you are introduced to the World Heritage listed sites through Gunditjmara eyes.See how the Budj Bim lava flows enabled the Gunditjmara to develop one of the largest and oldest aquaculture networks in the world. Composed of channels, dams and weirs, they are used to contain floodwaters and create basins to trap, store and harvest the kooyang eel. Tours along raised boardwalks designed to preserve the precious natural environment will showcase historical stone kooyang traps and stone channels, stone house sites and eel smoking trees and other natural phenomena.
- There is travel time of around 20 mins between each location visited on this tour. The total time on tour is 8 hours.
Location
Vaughans Road
Please meet at the Tae Rak Aquaculture Centre 15 mins before the start of your tour. DO NOT BE LATE
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.9
(98 Ratings)
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Eaterjd
Mar 17, 2026
Fabulous history lesson of indigenous engineering - a very humbling experience to learn about history we were never taught at school.
Luke was a very relaxed guide, taking us to many places around Budj Bim and Tae Rak.
The lunch was delicious, we enjoyed the eel and eel pate and the spiced macadamias were delicious.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Gregs3071
Feb 16, 2026
Outstanding - The Kooyang Yana Full Day Tour was the highlight of our Western Victoria trip. We had to juggle things around as we couldn't get a tour on the day we wanted, there were no guides available as they were booked out with large school groups.
We camped at the Budj Bim campgrounds which were really good. There were a couple of wallabies who hung about the area, one of them was lounging about under a tree at the next campsite across nibbling on a cone that had fallen from a tree.
The tour started from the cultural center at Tae Rak. We visited Budj Bim, saw the eel traps and the remains of ancient stone houses. We had a fabulous lunch at the cultural centre which included some traditional smoked eel.
We learned all about the culture of the Gunditjmara people from our excelent guide, Reuben. It was fascinating.
I highly recommend the full day tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
513sarahjaner
Jan 29, 2026
Outstanding experience for all! - The full day experience was amazing. My partner and 12 year old all agreed that it was educational, fun and that we would love to learn more. The guide was outstanding: knowledgeable, personable and full of stories both amusing and moving. The landscape itself is fascinating as were the birds we saw.
The lunch was delicious and we ate it all. We’d return just to eat at the visitor centre again.
To understand anything about this ancient landscape I would recommend the longest tour you have time for.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Margaretfg739xw
Jan 27, 2026
Add this to your itinerary. Slow down with a tour and get to know more about our beautiful country. - We were blown away with how good the tour and location was. I had heard that what I was taught at school was wrong, but had no idea the extent of aquaculture and sustainable practices that thousands of years of living and understanding nature can provide a community. The cafe by the Lake by is worthy of a stop along the drive to/from Melbourne, but you will get so much more from the tour. The eel tasting plate allows you to give the food a try. There are also other options for vegetarians. Learning about culture and the lifecycle of eels was one of the most fascinating tours we have done. Is great to know that the land is being managed by traditional owners who have tours to help all of us to enjoy the beautiful country we live in. The tour challenges you to rethink not only what we were told about aboriginal peoples but some of the practices that guide our lives - like the Gregorian calendar and the benefit of observation of nature to signpost when seasons are changing and what that means for our lives.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jesse_t
Dec 11, 2025
Everyone should do this tour. - Everyone should do this tour. The importance of the site in understanding Australia’s history, indigenous ingenuity, culture and sustainability, the natural beauty, the quality of the set up, the food, the fantastic guides, everything was absolutely mind blowing. An experience we will never forget with learnings we will take with us forever.
Review provided by Viator
Dsk9417fa
Dec 6, 2025
Budj Bim full day tour - Enjoyable expose of cultural info on local lands. Very confident tour guide Rueben took us thru local history based on aboriginal culture . Interesting to hear a deeper history of the land & see how eel fishing was done in a sustainable & clever way up until recently.
Rueben has amazing knowledge about short finned eels & it’s marvelous to see a young guy so passionate about his culture. Tour includes short bus trips with on the spot guidance on walks on what local shrubs are plus what they are used for. We really enjoyed the tour & recommend it to anyone wanting to know about culture around Portland/Port Fairy area . Also really great lunch that includes local eel as well.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sue
Oct 25, 2025
Don’t miss Budj Bim on your Victorian itinerary! - We had an absolutely amazing day with our Gunditjmara cultural guide, Ruben, as he shared his language, history, and knowledge of the amazing cultural landscape that is World Heritage-listed Budj Bim. Budj Bim is the site of the oldest practice of commercialised aquaculture worldwide. The Gunditjmara witnessed the volcanic action of Budj Bim (who is one of their creator spirits) over 30,000 years ago. Add to this an incredible lunch platter - don’t miss the eel pate or roo. This trip is a real highlight and shouldn’t be missed whether you are an Australian or International visitor. Thank you 🙏🏼
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lyndamadd
Oct 24, 2025
Wonderful cultural and historical experience - Eye opening cultural tour, well worth spending a day visiting 3 beautiful, different and interesting areas. The knowledge sharing was brilliant!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
H8156qkandyf
Oct 23, 2025
Full day all the way - It was definitely worth taking the full day tour! We had a great group of curious and engaged partipants and our guide Ruben was excellent. Loved the meal on the beautiful deck overlooking the lake, and the opportunity to visit some of the Victoria / Australia's most significant cultural heritage with a knowledgable guide on his own Country was incredible. Highly recommend!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
V5443fhcp
Oct 2, 2025
Brilliant tour in a beautiful setting - The tour exceeded our expectations. Our guide Tyson was incredibly knowledgeable and shared many stories and insights on First Nations practices and history. The cafe served a delicious lunch and the service was very friendly. Would highly recommend a visit to learn about such a special place and its history,
Review provided by Tripadvisor
