This morning I looked out to a damp and misty morning, with people gathered along the bank of Sassafras Creek. Fast as I could I joined them and somebody soon pointed out the platypus swimming in the fast running water. Although the light was poor, and the platypus fast, I managed to take over 100 photos, many of them rubbish.

The platypus swam up stream against a strong current. It came up for air every few minutes, swam on the surface, them dived to the bottom. Although the water was fairly clear, the platypus stirred up clouds of silt as it foraged for food with its bill on the bottom of the creek.

Built across the creek are a series of stone barrages, man made by the look of them. When the platypus came to a barrage, it climbed over it with apparent ease. The platypus we watched crossed two barrages, and some way beyond the second it abruptly turned around and allowed the current to carry it back to a deep and fairly still pool in the creek. When it got there, it disappeared and the show was over. Some people said the platypus has its burrow in the bank on the far side of the creek.

Climbing up a stone barrage

Mission Accomplished

Happy with the shots I got, I returned to my van, ate breakfast and set about preparing to leave. Even as I did this, people were still scanning the creek for the platypus, but it didn't come out again. They would probably have had more success staking out the other three platypuses who live near by. I just counted myself lucky to have seen two of them, one yesterday and another today.

It came on to rain and the whole valley took on a beauty of its own. Apart from the platypuses, this was a community of lovely people in a beautiful setting; I could have stayed there for days and just enjoyed the surroundings, rain or no rain. But it was time to travel, so I hit the road.

The view across Sassafras Creek from my van site.
Even in the misty rain it was a place to linger and harmonize with nature.

There were very few photos after I left Mole Creek, I was focussed on reaching Hobart by day's end. Tasmania is amazing to a mainlander like myself, it's so small and so diverse. The drive from Launceston to Hobart takes about 2½ hours and passes through some beautiful farming country. I took my time and stopped at a few historical sites along the way. The further south one travels, the older are the little towns with their convict era buildings and names. It's at once picturesque and quaint.

Following are three Platypus photos that would have been in yesterdays blog.

Now some shots from yesterday of Trowunna Wildlife Park

A Tasmanian Devil at Trowunna Wildlife Park.  Their breeding program is quite successful,
they've bred eleven generations of Devils without any facial tumor infections. 
On the day of my visit they were expecting three new babies to be born. 
The keepers were quietly confident.  

I looked into a Wombat's lair and made eye contact with this joey clinging
to its mother.  It looked at me briefly and shut its eyes; I took a photo.

I have many more shots from Trowunna, but uploading photos is the riskiest part of writing this blog.  But Finally, todays action photo: proof that youth is wasted on the young.  All three girls on the far side ran across the bridge, while I waited to get shots for the Coronor.