Budj Bim

Natural History Tour with a geologist and experienced local guide. This is a unique opportunity to see a well-preserved lava shield volcano in the company of an authentic geologist, the Budj Bim (Mount Eccles) Volcano. With the option of also visiting a local winery along the way. This is not a tour of the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape that is located nearby on part of the same lava system. Those tours are operated by Budj Bim Tours. You guide will explain the regional geological setting. He will teach you about geological time, with reference also to Aboriginal occupation of this region. You will see convincing examples of volcanic processes and learn about the different styles of volcanic eruptions in the region. For Schools field education in how the Historical Sciences work.

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.

This tour shows participants the stunning nature and cultural history of the World Heritage listed site, demonstrating the traditional techniques used across the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape to harvest eels and fish, as well as a visit to the Budj Bim National Park where the Gunditjmara creation story began.