Tae Rak (Lake Condah) 2-Hour Cultural Walk: Explore Ancient Budj Bim Cultural Landscape and Wildlife
4.9
141 Ratings
Breakaway Creek
Embark on a 2-hour cultural walk at Tae Rak (Lake Condah) to explore the ancient Budj Bim Cultural Landscape and encounter diverse wildlife. Learn about the Gunditjmara creation story and witness the remarkable aquaculture system and kooyang traps crafted by the indigenous community.
Duration:
2 hours
Cancellation:
1 day
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Highlights
-
Lake Condah - Your Gunditjmara guide will meet you at the Tae Rak Aquaculture Centre for an overview of the centre, the kooyang (eel) holding tank, the processing facility and the cafe & retail space.
Your guide will give you an overview of the Gunditjmara creation story and point out the extensive marine and bird-life of the lake.
Continue along the western edge of lake to the weir, for a look at the ancient landscape and the extensive range of stone aquaculture sites and fish traps. Learn about:
- Culturally significant flora & fauna, and the Tae Rak landscape
- The Tae Rak Aquaculture Centre and the Gunditjmara people
- Introduction to traditional kooyang (eel) harvesting & processing
- Stone country and kooyang traps on the eastern side of the lake & the network of aquaculture systems designed to trap and harvest kooyang for food and trade.
What's Included
- On-site restroom facilities
What's Not Included
- Tea and coffee
- Snacks
Additional Information
A guided walk of Tae Rak (Lake Condah) gives visitors an overview of the ancient and unique World Heritage Listed Budj Bin Cultural Landscape.
Your guide will give you an overview of the Gunditjmara creation story and point out the extensive marine and bird-life of the lake.
See ancient aquaculture system of lava flows and life-filled waterways and kooyang (eel) traps designed by the Gunditjmara, who have thrived here for more than 39,000 years, sustained by the living knowledge of their ancestors.
Location
WRRG+Q2 Breakaway Creek
Tae Rak Aquaculture Centre - Vaughans Road, Breakaway Creek, Victoria, 3303.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.9
(141 Ratings)
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Lesleyw784
Apr 15, 2024
Awesome experience - Luke was a brilliant guide… knowledgable and a great sense of humour. It’s an awesome place… took our breath away. So much to see and history I was oblivious to. Thanks so much. We’ll be back in spring. Lunch was lovely too!!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Damonv785
Apr 9, 2024
World-class - An amazing world class experience in Victoria’s backyard. We recommend everyone visit! We had the 2hr tour with cultural guide then finished with a hot lunch. Was a rainy day but we walked through the sites and were amazed by the knowledge and care of this country.
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X5854xqtonyg
Apr 9, 2024
World heritage at our doorstep - An excellent experience, knowledgeable guide, fascinating information we were only vaguely aware of before. Fantastic to have our own world heritage site. A few redneck conservatives would benefit from an informed tour
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Gollion93
Mar 30, 2024
Wonderful tour. Thanks Luke! - We booked for the two hour tour, but this was extended to over three hours as we were lucky enough to be driven to the eel traps at Kurtonitj. We also saw the amazing remnants of a stone house. Our guide, Luke was so informative about the the life history of eels, the history of the Gunditjmara mob and the effects of colonialism.His delightfully humorous delivery ensured that we absorbed everything he said. We highly recommend this trip.
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Jendad2024
Mar 30, 2024
Mindblowing! - Mindblowing! Our guide educated the group on everything from cultural history, colonial impact and ways we can all move forward to protect this environment. Absolutely loved it.
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Cathiew18
Mar 25, 2024
Amazing experience. Definitely a bucket list must do. - We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Budj Bim. We started with a tasting platter in the cafe which was delicious. The 2 hour tour was amazing, very informative and eye-opening. What a fascinating history. The tour guides were fantastic. Very friendly and knowledgeable. Thank you so much.
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Globetrotting546315
Mar 22, 2024
Unmissable! - We attended for the 2 hour tour last minute and couldn't have been more pleased with the experience! Our guide Luke was incredible and gave such a detailed history and knowledge of Tae Rak, Budj Bim and the eels that our entire tour was captivated throughout. There's such an intricate history of the area and a visit would be valuable always, but the tour offered such a rewarding experience and depth of knowledge it really is unmissable. Suitable for anyone interested in learning cultural knowledge and history. Also highly recommend a meal at the cafe for lunch after!
Amazing day, I look forward to returning in the future :)
Review provided by Tripadvisor
494bernadettef
Mar 20, 2024
Culturally Significant Site - A very interesting, informative and enjoyable experience. Our guide Rueben was knowledgeable, enthusiastic and engaging. We learnt so much about the importance of eels to indigenous culture and the need to preserve this unique ecosystem.
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R4299lvdavidj
Mar 18, 2024
A great learning experience - The tour was a great experience, led by a very knowledgeable young man from the local community. We learnt about the fascinating life cycle of the short finned eels and how the indigenous people have created an aquaculture system over thousands of years to exploit it. I would strongly recommend it to anyone with an interest in indigenous history and culture.
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Roving634160
Apr 14, 2024
Pricey for the experience - An informative tour, but at $89/head, very expensive for the experience. It was basically a 2hr verbal information session that became more like a lecture toward the end and was dragged out longer than necessary. I'm sure you could find all the info about eels on-line. The visual experience to back up the lecture was a let down. For the price we might have thought we may see a caught eel in the hand, an eel trap basket (other than the one in the cafe) and even be given a taste of smoked eel. I'm all for supporting UNESCO sites, but put a more realistic price on the tours and then encourage people to donate to the cause.
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