Harman 1

Byaduk Caves - Mount Napier State Park - Mount Eccles National Park

Useful Information

Location:	300 km south-west of Melbourne, 45 km south of Hamilton (Melway 507 C10). At Hamilton, take the Hamilton-Port Fairy Road, turn east 0.5 km north of North Byaduk into Byaduk Caves Rd. (-37.9084466, 141.9744994)
Open:	Summer no restrictions. [2026]
Fee:	free. [2026]
Classification:	Lava Tube
Light:	bring torch
Dimension:
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1926	Mt. Eccles was declared a public purposes (picnic) reserve
1960	the park was declared a National Park.
1987	Mount Napier State Park was realized.

Description

Byaduk Caves are four large and distinct lava tubes located in a lava flow stretching out 24 km from Mount Napier to Mount Eccles. The lava tubes contain wrinkles, stalactites and stalagmites, columns and ropy lava. Volcanic eruptions in this area began about 20,000 years ago and continued for the next 12,000 years.

Only one cave of Byaduk Caves, Harman 1, sometimes Harman’s One, is open to the public. Please remember to wear appropriate footwear and clothing and take a torch. There is a track down the collapse doline, but it is steep and may be slippery. Southern Bent-wing Bats spend the winter in the caves hibernating. Hence, the cave is closed to visitors during the winter.

From the car park at the end of Byaduk Caves Road a rount trail leads to the entrances of the cave, and there are several viewpoint. The trail is 1.4 km long and easy, allow about half an hour.