Budj Bim Cultural Sites
Budj Bim Cultural Sites
Access to the Budj Bim World Heritage listed Cultural Landscape sites is often over rough stony roads, which are prone to flooding. Some sites are not open to the public. Please check with us before proceeding to the sites.
Budj Bim National Park
Budj Bim is a Gunditjmara name, meaning 'high head'. The Budj Bim lava flows provide the basis for the complex system of channels, weirs and dams developed by the Gunditjmara in order to trap, store and harvest 'kooyang' (short-finned eel).
Lake Surprise provides an overview of the Budj Bim concept with special themes relating to volcanic and landscape creation stories.
GMTOAC own and manage this site.
Tae Rak (Lake Condah)
Tae Rak is made up of 1,700 hectares of significant wetlands and stony rises right next to the historic lava flows of Budj Bim National Park in south-west Victoria.
The lake provides habitat for kooyang (eel) and toupon (mountain trout).
GMTOAC own and manage this site.
Kurtonitj
Situated in the centre of the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape, Kurtonitj is sacred to the Gunditjmara people with enormous cultural, archaeological and environmental significance.
The site features stone eel traps and stone channels, stone house sites and eel smoking trees.
GMTOAC own and manage this site.
Tyrendarra (IPA)
The ancient volcanic landscape of Tyrendarra was created by the eruption of Budj Bim (Mount Eccles) around 27,000 years ago.
It is a traditional meeting place and camping area for the Gunditjmara people, and the land is part of major Dreaming trails and an important ceremonial site.
The Winda-Mara Aboriginal Corporation manage the Tyrendarra IPA and run Budj Bim Tours at the site.
Lake Condah Mission
A community meeting place, an administrative centre, a symbol of political struggle and a link to Gunditjmara family histories.
The mission opened in 1867 and officially closed in 1918, representing a period of contemporary Gunditjmara history.
GMTOAC own and manage this site. There is no public access to this site.