Last weekend we decided it was time to watch one of nature’s unique creatures in wild. We packed up and headed towards Eungella National Park – one of the best places to watch platypus.

Most people tend to associate Australia with kangaroos or koalas or boomerangs but it is the shy platypuses that have had my attention forever. Beyond pictures, I have spotted the platypus in zoos and marvelled at their uniqueness. Soft bill, webbed front-feet, egg-laying, semi-aquatic mammal and endemic to Eastern Australia – these creatures are so weird. In a good way.

I love how informative the boards are.

Platypuses are shy. They get scared easily – like the click of the DSLR freaks them off. Mostly nocturnal, the best time for spotting them frolicking in the river are the early morning and late evening hours. We joined the groups of tourists on the viewing platform hushing kids, zooming camera lenses and eyes glued to the shallow green-brown river. You look for the bubbles and suddenly you see a small piece of driftwood floating. By the time you realise it was a platypus, it dives in and the wait begins again. It was extremely hard to get pictures of the platypus especially on my phone.

Kuttyma named this one Grassy Noodle – picture clicked by Rajan on his DSLR

These animals are small – around 50 cms in length and are usually spotted alone. They live along the river beds in burrows and dive into the river water to seek food. Their brown fur easily camouflages and it does take some time to get accustomed to finding them. In Eungella you are almost guaranteed a sighting. Watching the platypus filled me with a strange feeling – now I know how I will feel when I encounter aliens.

Nestled amongst the mist-shrodden clouds the Eungella National Park is a mountain refuge. The rain forests here are extremely diverse and boast of plant and animal species not found anywhere else. The park like many others in the region are very-well maintained with well-marked trails and great lookout points.

The Broken River region of the National Park where you are almost guaranteed to catch a sight of the platypus is amazingly tranquil and mysteriously unique. The rolling hills dotted with diary cows, the screeching cockatoos, laughing kookaburras and silence. We walked along the trails catching glimpses of the river and in awe of the beauty around us. Moss-covered logs, fan palms, silky spider webs, ferns, trailing roots and the calls of birds – it was blissfully perfect. It was kuttyma’s first long hike and it was quite a sight to see her enjoying the world.

While in the region, we stayed at the Broken River Mountain Resort. The place is right next to the platypus viewing platforms and a number of trail heads.

A wonderful and refreshing weekend! This is one memory of Australia, I will carry forever