Budj Bim Cultural Landscape in Western Victoria is one of Australia\u2019s most important heritage landscapes. Travel writer Kerry van der Jagt discovers the significance of this incredible site. <\/strong><\/p>\n This blog was brought to you in partnership with\u00a0<\/em>Welcome to Country<\/em><\/a>, a not-for-profit marketplace for Australian Indigenous experiences.<\/em><\/p>\n Long before the Egyptians diverted the Nile or the Romans constructed aqueducts, the Gunditjmara people of south-western Victoria created a sophisticated hydrological engineering system designed to trap, store and harvest kooyang (short-finned eel).<\/p>\n Dating back 6600 years, the elaborate series of modified water channels, weirs and ponds is considered one of the world\u2019s oldest and most extensive aquaculture systems.<\/p>\n \u201cFarming eels and trading the excess with other nations enabled my people to develop a large, settled community,\u201d says Braydon Saunders, a local guide and Gunditjmara man who has been instrumental in the push to open Budj Bim to visitors. \u201cOur eel and fish traps have re-written the history books, proving that our mob were more than just hunter-gatherers leading a nomadic lifestyle.\u201d<\/p>\n Today the stones are silent, but it takes little imagination to conjure a scene of men working the eel traps, adjusting stonework in line with the seasonal floods, while women wove elaborate fish nets and baskets.<\/p>\n In recognition of the highly productive system, which provided an economic and social base for Gunditjmara society for six millennia, the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape<\/a> was inscribed as a World Heritage site in 2019, the first Australian landscape to be included purely for its Indigenous cultural values.<\/p>\n Since inscription, a lot of work by the Gunditjmara community has gone into developing the First Nations owned-and-operated Budj Bim Cultural Landscape Tourism experience<\/a>. Opened in July 2022, visitors can join a variety of tours led by Gunditjmara guides taking in the eel traps and channels, remains of circular stone dwellings and smoking trees, where the eels were prepared for consumption or trade.<\/p>\n The new cultural tourism experience is located in and around Budj Bim National Park and Tae Rak (Lake Condah), beyond Victoria\u2019s picturesque Great Ocean Road. \u201cThe infrastructure and raised boardwalks allow guests to get out amongst the fish trap systems, to stand over the top of them,\u201d says Saunders. The site also includes the Tae Rak Aquaculture Centre, bush tucker caf\u00e9, retail space and display tank.<\/p>\n Visitors on a tight timeframe can enjoy a two-hour guided cultural walk of the Tae Rak aquaculture sites and wetlands, while those with a bit more time can take the half-day Tungatt Mirring (stone country) tour. The full-day Kooyang Yana tour includes the Kurtonitj Indigenous Protected Area, Lake Gorrie drystone walls and a guided walk of the Tae Rak wetlands.<\/p>\n \u201cOr you can just come and have a coffee or a cake, or a barramundi or smoked eel platter for lunch. Our chefs do a great job of creating a story with the food,\u201d Saunders says. The Tae Rak Aquaculture Centre is open Wednesday to Sunday for tours and meals.<\/p>\n Whichever tour you choose, this new tourism venture will take everything you thought you knew about Indigenous culture and blow it out of the (eel-filled) water.<\/p>\n \u201cEach time you come out you will learn a bit more, build on your experiences. Every visit will be different, as different things happen during different seasons. The menu at the caf\u00e9 will also change, depending on what is seasonal,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n Gunditjmara country is a hauntingly beautiful place, created by fire and brimstone some 37,000 years ago when the volcano Budj Bim (meaning \u2018high head\u2019) erupted, resulting in lava flows and the formation of lakes and waterways.<\/p>\n \u201cBudj Bim had seen our people struggling to live a sustainable life. They had been living too much for themselves, and not enough for one another\u201d says Saunders. \u201cSo he revealed himself and transformed the landscape by spewing blood (lava) and teeth (stones), forcing them to change their ways. It\u2019s a story as old as time, about looking out for each other and caring for one another.\u201d<\/p>\n The trapping system was as innovative as it was simple, using the natural springs and lakes created by the eruption to direct the eels into holding ponds. \u201cIt was then up to my people to create channels through the basalt, through which the eels could follow. It was designed so that they could come in, but not come out.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf you were to ask how we would do that, it\u2019s a very complicated process. Basically we used fire, because this stone is very porous, and the fire would collapse the stone. So our mob used fire to create channels.\u201d<\/p>\n Remains of eel traps can be seen in other locations across Australia and all over the world, but the unique characteristic of Budj Bim is that they were carved and crafted into the landscape, meaning the traps and ponds could be used and re-used for thousands of years.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was about not making a massive change to the landscape,\u201d says Saunders. \u201cBut about making a change small enough that it worked in our favour but did not have a negative impact on the environment.\u201d<\/p>\n Taking care of Country and sharing stories with others lies at the heart of the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape Tourism. \u201cMy country and my home \u2013 I\u2019m getting emotional thinking about it now \u2013 means everything to me,\u201d says Saunders. \u201cIt\u2019s been a real whirlwind over the last six weeks leading up to the opening, but the overpowering emotion is one of complete pride in what we\u2019ve been able to achieve, whether 6600 years ago, or three years ago with World Heritage listing. A lot of pride.\u201d<\/p>\n Keen to visit Budj Bim? Check out our Great Ocean Road & Grampians Adventure<\/a> or visit Welcome to Country to learn more<\/a>. <\/strong><\/p>\n The writer is a descendant of the Awabakal people of the mid-north coast of New South Wales.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Budj Bim Cultural Landscape in Western Victoria is one of Australia\u2019s most important heritage landscapes. Travel writer Kerry van der Jagt discovers the significance of this incredible site. This blog was brought to you in partnership with\u00a0Welcome to Country, a not-for-profit marketplace for Australian Indigenous experiences. 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