A wonderful family experience but probably recommend the full day tour for kids older than 12 due... read more
A wonderful family experience but probably recommend the full day tour for kids older than 12 due... read more
I didn't know much about the Budj Bim World Heritage listed Cultural Landscape sites at Lake... read more
A great short 2 hr walking tour with a very knowledgeable and engaging guide. A good mixture of information, walking, talking and experiencing examples of how the land was farmed, harvested and managed. Guides were passionate and warm, and great to spend time with
We were travelling the Great Ocean Road and are interested in indigenous Australian culture and history, so found this tour. It's well worth it. Our guide Colleen and daughter Nicky gave us a lot of really good information about the lifestyle of the local indigenous people, harvesting eels and native plants etc.
They also generously shared their families stories with us, and parts of their culture like totems, indigenous names of animals and areas, etc.
This is the type of tour that Australians need, to learn more about Australian history, indigenous culture and also better understand the natural environment that Indigenous Australians understood and managed so effectively. After doing this tour then driving past endless dry, dusty sheep paddocks, it really highlighted to us how damaged and desolate the landscape has become through European farming practices the last 200+ years.
My Mum and I paid $140 to do a 2.5 hour tour of the Budj Bim hut circles and eel traps. I am so happy that this area has been made a UNESCO site and was glad to finally book a guide. Unfortunately, whilst our guide was very pleasant, she basically read off signs and gave us little information about the Indigenous history and culture of Budj Bim. We were given no idea of the age of the site, the Budj Bim volcano, or about how the inhabitants lived. If we hadn’t asked questions to try and find out about the site, we probably would have just
Stood around whilst our guide took photos of birds for the Facebook page.
When we asked about the spiritual significance of Lake Condah we were told that
It was basically just a big food source. Our guide could also tell us nothing about totem animals for different tribes or any of the mythology/culture of the area, or what changed with the coming of the Europeans. Sadly I got more information from tourism websites about the area than on the tour itself, which was disappointing after having had the tour on my “bucket list” for several years.
The tour was a focal point of our visit to the area and it was so worth it. The tour was conducted by Ben who explained the way of life for the Gunditjmara people and their use of eel traps and construction of houses using the natural materials on site. What I loved the most was the opportunity to see, feel and achieve a greater understanding of the over 40 000 years of indigenous culture that is evident around the area.
The smoking ceremony to start the walking tour with the explanation of the types of plants used and what the ceremony symbolised was such a wonderful start to the tour.
Lived in the region for years and it wasn't until 2020 I took the time to visit this magic site. Excellent walking tracks, highlighting sites of significance, the fish traps, early housing and other sites of Indigenous importance. We visited in Summer, didn't see any snakes, but there were inquisitive kangaroos looking on. We plan to go back in Winter and Spring when Budj Bim takes on a new appearance after winter rains.
I tried to ring the tour group phone number approximately 10 times, leaving messages on at least 3 occasions. I wanted to arrange a group booking. Eventually speaking to someone after calling the local council who went down to see if there was a problem there. I did receive a call from a very pleasant woman and arranged a tour. When I rang several days prior to the tour , once again no answer. Was able to at last contact on line only to learn that when I was told they had a wheel chair and there was wheel chair access that this was incorrect. I was then told " Perhaps you had better choose another tour"
Pity because I have since visited without a tour guide and found the facility to be beautiful and with the help a signs, quite informative. This is a great tourist attraction going begging because of the lack of any organisation or any customer service.