Tae Rak (Lake Condah) 2-hour Cultural Tour

An amazing experience and a privilage to have knowledge shared through stories and experiences of traditional custodians. Our guide Cody was both knowledgable and thoughtful in all she presented to us, taking time and care to walk with us in our learning of this land. Cannot recommend this experience more highly. One regret was not booking a longer tour. And a added bonus, lunch at the cafe was incredible.

Very interesting and interactive tour! The guides are Gunditjmara with the closest possible ties to the land and traditions. The information you get are plentiful, if you can get a longer tour I would absolutely recommend that!

The Tae Rak Cultural Tour was a wonderful, informative and educational experience about the local indigenous peoples, the Gunditjmara. Our guide Joey was engaging, friendly and so very, very knowledgeable on the history of the area. A Following the tour, we had the Tasting Plate at the Restaurant, which I would also highly recommend. I have a much greater appreciation of our traditional landowners/custodians and their culture and traditions along with understanding more fully their connection to Country.

This was a fascinating tour with Joey who grew up on this land and very knowledgeable. The focus of the tour relates to how he and his ancestors lived off the land and the clever way they caught eel.

we learnt something new, hoping they have a great future.

Excellent experience and cultural experience amazing. Highly recommended cafe too

What a fantastic experience!! Our guide brought the history to life and gave us all a very enjoyable and knowledgeable experience. It was lovely to get an inkling of the depth of knowledge and ingenuity of the indigenous community of this area. I would love a tour of this region to be included in all schools as a core component of education and would highly recommend the tour to anyone interested in learning about the history of our indigenous peoples. Thanks again for a memorable tour!

Joey was very informative. Got a great appreciation of the life led before cook. Info centre at the lake good with more to come.

What an amazing experience so different to what we were made aware of thru our schools Very informative guide and truly opened our eyes and minds to the aquaculture being practised so many years ago. Well done we are certainly spreading the word and the lunch was superb.

Brilliant. The Guide was very "down to earth" and the Site is amazing. The Tour totally exploded the Myth that the Pre Colonization Custodians of the land were "Nomadic Hunter Gather's. I will do the full day Tour some time soon. NOTE. Beware of the Roos / Wallabies on the way there.

I highly recommend the tour of this World Heritage listed region. Our guide Jakoby was very knowledgeable about the aboriginal history of the region, cultural use of the land and aquaculture as well as the volcanic landscape. We visited ancient eel traps and stone house ruins. We departed, after a share plate of eel, very much enriched by the experience.

Ruben was a fantastic guide and provided us with impressive amounts of information for the length of the tour. The food at the cafe is exceptional too. I had a brilliant time!

A well run tour, super interesting and the landscape was gorgeous

It was a fantastic way to learn about such an important part of Australia's history. The tour guide brought to life the stone channels, smoking tree, stone huts and more. Everything was given detail and context, and explained with enthusiasm.

One of the best tours I have ever done. The guide was knowledgeable and interesting. The subject matter very interesting. The eel taster super

It was great to see and hear information from our tour guide. He was passionate about passing information of the technical prowess of his people regarding their lives of that time. The life cycle of the eels was amazing.

We loved the experience starting from a tasting plate for our lunch, consisting of smoked eel, wattleseed pate, goats cheese and a few other local foods. Reuben our guide led us on a very personal and moving tour of the area where his ancestors had lived and farmed creating for us as onlookers a very real sense of how they did live. Reuben was very entertaining and very informative.

I was blown away on this tour. The guide (Rueben) was incredibly knowledgeable, answering all the tour participants questions with grace and good humour… I think we asked some dumb questions. I wasn’t aware of the significance of this sight and came away with much more understanding of the history of this place and the connection to country that the Gunditjmara people have had for thousands of years. This was an enlightening and enriching tour. So glad I did it.

Wonderful and informative and professional. I loved every minute of this tour. A ‘must do’ for your list. I only wished I had time to do the full day tour.

Grab a coffee at the shop, and learn in a peaceful, natural environment about thousands of years of history, culture, and steps toward reconciliation. Two hours goes by quickly, visiting a few different locations. We enjoyed the eel charcuterie afterwards!

Really excellent tour. Reuben knew a lot, and had a great sense of humour. Not to be missed. Learned a great deal about the traditional owners.

We learnt so much from Jayden. He wove together western science, Indigenous science, culture and history. His references to personal/family stories rounded out an incredibly rich experience that explained the links of his people to this land through generations.

Our guide welcomed us to his country and gave us a fascinating account of the technology and history of the eel traps in this area. We learnt about the extraordinary life cycle of the eel and how First Peoples were able to build structures to harvest eels sustainably for thousands of years. He also told us about his family and current research projects. He was open to any questions . The lake and the area are very beautiful with a very calm, special atmosphere. We learnt a lot and enjoyed tour very much. I highly recommend this tour, suitable for people of all ages and abilities. Prior to the tour we had an eel tasting plate which was delicious and sumptiously presented.

Fantastic tour. Definitely not to be missed. We learnt so much about the traditional owners and their life. Our tour guides were very generous, sharing their knowledge and personal stories. It was unfortunate we couldn't do a longer tour but we learnt so much on the two hour tour.

Uplifting visit to the Tae Rak Aquaculture centre. Our guide was friendly and engaging and conveyed well the complexity of the history of the site, as well as the amazing story of the eel traps and the fascinating science of the eels themselves. The UNESCO listed site is something for all Victorians to treasure.

The insights provided by our extremely knowledgeable guide, Jayden, on indigenous aquaculture practised in this country were just amazing. He provided a level of information that brought these practices alive and allowed us to fully understand the sophistication and innate knowledge of geology, hydrology, geography and sustainability that allowed the Gunditjmara people to live in this landscape in harmony.

We started with lunch at the cafe before the tour - the Kooyang (Eel) tasting plate was especially delicious. The Tae Rak Aquaculture Centre is beautifully designed and a great spot to settle before heading out. First stop on our tour was the Kooyang tank - with its description of the lifecycle of the short-finned eel, amazing animals. We then headed to the Kurtonitj Indigenous Protected Area (IPA), where we were introduced to the Budj Bim seasonal calendar and learnt about eel trapping, and diverting water flows to eel holding ponds. We looked at how the stone houses were built, and villages grew - in the lava flow landscape which provided bountiful resources for the Gunditjmara. We had an excellent guide (who is also the GM of the Tae Rak Aquaculture Centre) and came away feeling that it was all pretty cool.

The tour was terrifically interesting and informative and the guide, Luke, was fantastic. I am interested in doing a longer tour and will definitely recommend friends and family experience the Budj Bim cultural landscape guided tours. My Tae Rak two hour wetlands guided cultural tour was an outstandingly good experience.

Visiting Tae Rak and the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape was one of the most meaningful experiences we’ve had. From the moment we arrived, it was clear we were on very special land — full of history, resilience, and deep cultural significance. What stood out most was the way stories were shared — with such warmth, pride, and generosity. It wasn’t just a tour; it was an invitation to connect with Country, culture, and the enduring spirit of the Gunditjmara people. The peaceful surroundings, the hospitality, and the sense of walking through living history left a lasting impression. We came away feeling not only more informed, but genuinely moved and inspired. Highly recommended to anyone seeking a cultural experience that touches both the mind and the heart

Amazing place, Luke the guide was fantastic .His knowledge of the aquaculture, and the significance of the Gunditjmara people in this area and the the eels was just amazing

This tour was super interesting and inspiring - could have spent hours more easily, the history goes way before the pyramids of Egypt and is still alive today

This tour was fantastic. The geography of the lake and landscape was fascinating (I had NO idea of extent of volcanic activity in Victoria !) and the guide very knowledgeable. We learnt a lot about the ingenuity and skills of First Nations people with aquaculture and ability to work with the landscape - and to see fish traps dated to @6500 years old was a bit mind-blowing. Outstanding opportunity to learn about culture, landscape and the country that we live in. And stay for lunch. Food at the Tae Rak cafe was first rate. I can recommend the smoked eel tasting plate.

An excellent experience, we learned a lot from Luke, who was not just knowledgeable but also very good humoured and energetic despite it being a cold, damp Friday afternoon. The place is fascinating, the stories even more so. The lunch was trully delicious and different. Well worth a visit.

Excellent tour with Reuben - knowledgeable and a great communicator. Reuben gave a very comprehensive coverage of the Gunditjmara people, their country and wars. Truely a great UNESCO listing. The complex aquaculture management was quite amazing. The Tae Rak facility itself was stunning.

Reuben was a great tour guide who introduced us to the incredibly complex land and water management system. He told great stories about the Gundidjmara people and the way the lived in and loved the land. And, most importantly, survived the brutality of the colonial genocide. I'm grateful to have been given the opportunity to learn more. Deep respect. The cafe is also brilliant.

Luke was very informative and we learned so much about Aboriginal culture we were not aware of. It is sobering to learn of the things which were done by the white invaders.

What a great historical site, our guide was so positive and enthusiastic it made for an experience that we have recommended to friends and family

What an enriching cultural experience at the beautiful Tae Rak Aquaculture Centre. Reuben, our tour guide, shared his wealth of cultural knowledge about the extraordinary eel-trapping systems developed by the Gunditjmara people. We also learned about traditional bush tucker and gained valuable insights about the sustainability and land conservation methods used by the Gunditjmara over thousands of years in their beautiful Country. Highly recommended.

The tour was a wonderful insight into the local Gunditjmara people's culture, history, and above all connection to their land. Our guide was knowledgeable, friendly and very informative. Tae Rak (Lake Condah) facility is only 4 years old, and as our guide acknowledged, is a work in progress, as the lake and surrounding area is rehabilitated to its former pre-colonial environment. I found the information on the eels' life cycle fascinating! The 2-hour tour includes a short trip to the nearby eel traps and smoking trees area, where again a lot of rehabilitation work is being undertaken. This experience was a highlight of our trip to south-western Victoria! I would love to be able to return in the future to see the full realisation of the Budj Bim project's vision. Tae Rak has an excellent cafe and shop, is easy to visit, and definitely worth visiting.

The generosity of our guide in sharing his knowledge and history. The importance of the site. The beauty of the landscape

Great charisma & info from our east Gunditjmara guide Reuben. Tasting plate worth the add. My 6-year-old daughter loved the eels & the guided tour.

This cultural tour is a unique experience rather than a photo shoot Knowledge is shared and thousands of yrs technology is explained from understanding nature's seasons to food collection storage and trade So good to hear first language followed by english interpretation If you're curious this tour gives you answers A privelegde to be on Gunditjmara country

The talk by our guide was first class. He got to know something about the members of the group and pitched his introduction and the information about each site we visited to his audience. I left the tour with the beginnings of an understanding of the civilisation which had helped to shape the country we were in and had cared for it over tens of thousands of years before dispossession. It was moving and a learning experience for me. After the tour we had lunch in the visitors' centre and saw the wider country with new eyes. The combination of being on such an important site and learning from a guide who knew his subject, cared deeply about it and respected his audience made this a memorable experience.

Jayden was an amazing tour guide, so much information, brilliant presentation, about the eels, the development of Tae Rak and Indigenous culture

This was an outstanding experience. Ruben was a brilliant guide providing an insightful journey into indigenous culture, practice and lifestyle in this extraordinary environment. I was once again introduced to the wonders of the indigenous "calendar" (the first time was in Kakadu). It is distressing to me that in my 70s I am only just becoming aware of this amazing element in indigenous culture! Why is it that I know (from school) more about ancient Greece and history of the British Empire and almost NOTHING about the amazing culture that we live amongst!!! Just do the tour - you will be entranced.

A fantastic cultural learning experience! The tour guide was exceptional. We spent an extra day at Mt Gambier so we could visit and are very glad that we did.

Had an amazing time learning about the Budj Bim culture and landscape and to quote our guide (quoting Adam Goodes) 'history of long ago and not so long ago'. Very informative, tour information was well structured and interesting for Australians ond overseas visitors. So lovely to see water returned to the lake. After the tour we had a wonderful tasty lunch at the cafe. All the staff and guides were really friendly and helpfull. Would highly recommend this experience.

The tour was a great educational experience, the guide was very knowledgeable and discussed the many issues both cultural and environmental in a sensitive and realistic way. Beautiful landscape lovingly described and great food in the cafe.

We went on a tour with Ruben as our guide. He was very knowledgeable and interesting and we had great discussions with him. We would highly recommend this tour. The restaurant and the cultural centre was excellent.