Platypuses supposedly proliferate in the Plenty River behind the hatchery but dawdling at the viewing platforms fails to bring them forth. The hatchery's history is intriguing and there are rooms full of angling memorabilia. The oldest trout hatchery in the southern hemisphere, they still supply trout for Tassie's lakes and dams. Photo / Briar Jensenīehind the hawthorn hedge at the Salmon Ponds Heritage Hatchery is a 19th century English garden with manicured lawns and exotic trees of golden ash and elm reflected in the gravity-fed ponds. Possum Shed Café in Westaway is a cute spot for refreshment. The sandstone buildings in the hamlet of Hamilton, including coffee at Jackson's Emporium, then Lawrenny Distillery on the banks of the upper Derwent, one of only three paddock-to-bottle whiskey distillers in the world, who also make a range of gins and a cold brew coffee liqueur. With the wind still up next morning I jump in the car with Cally's list of recommendations and drive to and fro, leaving a track like a moth larva on a scribbly gum. It's a relief to reach Rathmore without hitting anything. It's a different story on the drive home in the dark, where I dial down the speed to dodge the wildlife, from wallabies and wombats to pademelons, possums and owls. But we do spot three, just at such a distance it's hard to distinguish them from a bobbing log. With so much wind on the water, I'm expecting to break that lowest record. Taking a break for chai tea and Fi's chocolate brownies Liam tells us the highest tally of platypus sightings on the three-hour tour is 26, the worst three. We paddle past hop farms and pharmaceutical poppies, spot a sea eagle's nest and a white-faced heron. It's pretty though, with blue gums and poplars edging the water. The river is low, the flow is slow and we're battling a headwind. Liam explains that the wind is usually behind us and we go with the river's flow so hardly need to paddle. Paddle with Platypus tours take place on a section of the Derwent River. I'm desperate to jump the fence and dash down to the water's edge, but dinner is ready and Cally assures me they'll be there tomorrow. Radiating concentric ripples are a platy's calling-card and we see several. As we tuck into carrot and lovage tarts, watching sunset-soaked clouds reflected in the calm waters of Dew Rivulet 50m away, we spot activity in the water. I join another guest for hors d'oeuvres on the deck outside the stables. Husband Richard sits at the enormous timber table peeling potatoes and prepping creme brulee for dinner.Ĭally is a font of local knowledge and by the time she's told me all the must-visit places nearby it's cocktail hour. Sporting beetroot-coloured Merry gumboots and matching jumper she bustles me into the farmhouse kitchen with its aromas of roasting garlic and fresh rosemary. Dew Rivulet! There's a variety of accommodation here from shearer's quarters to farm cottage, but I'm staying in a room in the Georgian sandstone homestead. It's late afternoon as I turn off the quiet country road at Hollow Tree into Rathmore's driveway, past what looks like a dam. Not only is it close to Mt Field National Park, but owner Cally Lyons assures me there are platypuses in Dew Rivulet, which runs through the property. It's one of the best places to see them, so I'm returning to Tassie's Central Highlands, staying at Rathmore Farm, an hour north of Hobart. I've only seen one, fleetingly, in the wild, at Lake Dobson in Tasmania's Mt Field National Park. Dawn and dusk are purportedly the best times to see them, but they're sometimes spotted during the day. Inhabiting freshwater rivers and lakes in Australia's east and southeast, they hide in burrows and mainly feed in the water at night. There are only two monotremes in the world, echidnas being the other – Aussie scooped the pool in this category. They are monotremes – egg-laying mammals – and suckle their young by secreting milk through their skin. They are such an oddity that the first specimen sent to the British Museum in 1799 was thought to be a taxidermy hoax. Covered in fur the platypus has a duck-like beak, beaver-like tail and webbed front feet for swimming. I'm on a quest to see Australia's weirdest, but arguably cutest, creature in the wild. Searching for an elusive quarry leads Briar Jensen back to Tasmania's Central Highlands With so much to seek in Tasmania, platypi are just the beginning.
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