Wild Platypus!

While on holidays we trundled up to Broken River in the Eungella National Park to look for platypii, and here is the result. :)

View all photos taken: Tuesday, 7th July 2009, This photo: 4:26pm

Previous Photo: Black Kite

Comments

  • Craig B 73 said:
    Nice find.
  • accesser said:
    Oh lucky lucky you, Platypus are on my list of shots I want such different looking things love them.
  • SkattyKat said:
    and he is watching you David !! lol
    Special capture, well done
  • David de Groot said:
    Thanks :) Got many more shots and a video too.
    Next up is a wild crocodile! Mwahahahaha! :)
  • accesser said:
    :P So you be needing a 600mm next then
  • David de Groot said:
    Thanks Kath :) We were lucky this time round, we got there, went for a wander to the viewing platform, and within minutes there was a platypus right there in front of us :)
  • SkattyKat said:
    David, was this up the mountain ??? I hated that drive lol
  • Craig B 73 said:
    Crocodiles I have seen while I've got a camera in my hand. I can't ever imagine finding a platypus though.
  • stephenk1977 said:
    Excellent wildlife photo! I've never seen a platypus whilst there is enough light to take decent photos.
  • SmegHead69 said:
    oH WOW ! Sweet!
  • batch2008 said:
    Wow, truly amazing to see something like a platypus in the wild. Were you expecting to find one in the area you were in. Nice find, something a bit different than birds or roos.
  • David de Groot said:
    Yep, sure was. It's not that bad a drive really, but then I have a very liberal attitude to driving distances ;-)
    Well I've seen captive crocs, and photographed them, but I'd like to shoot one in the wild (preferably from a safe distance) ;-)
    You'll note the ISO (2500), light was fading fast, but we were still fairly lucky.
    Thanks :)
    Yeah, I was expecting to find one, as it was, we saw two!
  • Craig B 73 said:
    Sounds like an NT holiday is on the cards.
  • SkattyKat said:
    I think I have a liberal attitude to driving "distances" as well - it was the section up & down the side of the mountain - unless the rods have widened since I was there (which I must admit was a few years ago lol)
  • Cass n Dan said:
    AWWWWWWW what a sexy lil thing :P
    He is so cute :) awwwwwwwwwwww
  • David de Groot said:
    Well apparently they occur just north of my parent's place (been to two beaches with Croc warning signs while there, but no crocs).
    NT would be rather interesting though.
    I didn't think it was too narrow, compared to some of the other roads I drove on during the trip ;-)
    They're very very cool - I'll post a video at some stage.
  • Jack High said:
    Well done. I've never photographed a wild platypus before. Interesting circles in the water as well.
  • aramisfirefly said:
    Woooo hoo Dave, very cool find as explained on the weekend!
  • David de Groot said:
    When they surface, they lay there floating twitching their beak, thus the ripples. :)
    Thanks Matt :) Checked your Abbey shots yet ? (still downloading mine).
  • Shaun Johnston said:
    Good to see the Eungella foray was rewarded :)
  • maasha said:
    It is probably the fella as saw a couple of years ago:
  • ßlϋeωãvε said:
    I dunno, you Aussies and your fake creatures! ;-) Hope you all had a great holiday.
  • Thea M said:
    What a great experience, David. All I have ever seen are the ripples as they disappear from view.
  • apurdam (Andrew) said:
    You lucky person!
  • David de Groot said:
    hahaha :P Yeah great holiday, lots of birding done, some landscapes, and a good deal of just lazing about.
    Ah, well you need to watch the bubble stream to see what direction they're heading and then wait for them to surface again :)
    I remember that shot :) Most likely the same one (or it's mate, as we saw two).
    Indeed! :)
  • johammond said:
    Oh! That must have been lovely to see. They are such shy little things!
  • Mitch Lahey said:
    Nice David. The water ripples around it makes me like this a lot
  • David de Groot said:
    It was indeed Jo, I was very happy to see them this close. 'twas a shame the rest of the family had stopped off to have afternoon tea instead of wandering down to look too. At least I brought them back photos and a video.
    He seemed to like to bob his bill when on the surface. Most of my shots have these ripples in them.
  • Out_and_About said:
    I just love Platypus! They are my favourite Australian Mammal.
    How exciting to have seen this in the wild. What a great shot.
    MichelleL
  • David de Groot said:
    Of all Australia's animals, they're definitely the coolest. :)
    'twas very exciting, luckily I kept my head and got some video as well. Might post that shortly.
  • Wes Cooper said:
    What an excellent find, that must have been very exciting. I know how excited I was at just seeing two echindnas!
  • David de Groot said:
    Wild Echidnas are on my list too. I've seen a couple in the wild and it was very exciting, but alas did not get a photo.
  • doraclay1 said:
    Wow, how wonderful to actually see and photograph one in the wild ! The closest I've ever gotten to a platypus was watching a nature show on TV...
  • David de Groot said:
    It was indeed. I'd glimpsed one in the wild before, but not this close. They're really fascinating creatures.
  • AustralisWilds said:
    What an amazing sighting! God's blessed me with a couple of sightings in my life, but I've never gotten such a great photo like this. Great, great shot!
  • David de Groot said:
    'twas a great afternoon for it - he came quite close and stuck around for a while, and moreover, it wasn't too dark for photography yet :)
  • Olympe B. said:
    Nice shot!!!