PLATYPUS PARK COUNTRY RETREAT

20 Ada Street, Bridport, Tasmania, Australia.
Phone: (03)63561873 --- Fax: (03) 63560173 --- Ph Intl: +61 3 63561873 --- Email: platypuspark@tassie.net.au

To appreciate "no crowds" you will have to leave the sealed road for 800m to get to our gate.

If you would like to see wildlife in their natural habitat you need to bring your torch and wander down the paddocks at night. You might see a wombat, possums, or wallabys.

Bird watching is very rewarding at Platypus Park Country Retreat. Its is possible to see the eastern rosella parrot, wrens, plovers, kookaburras, fan tails, black cockatoos, robins, butcher birds and wattle birds just to mention a few. You will need to bring your own binoculars, to get a closer look.

Kookaburra
Kookaburra
"We are not right on the beach so that we can offer you a unique experience of being in the country but still only 2 minutes to some of the best beaches in Tasmania."

Platypus spotting is possible if you are patient and quiet. Their natural habitat is the Brid river but they come up to the farm dams frequently and are easier to see while they are fosicking for food.
Some facts about platypus you may like to know:

  • Platypuses are covered with three layers of thick brown fur.
  • Platypuses eat worms and other small animals that live in the water.
  • Platypuses have webbed feet, a bill like a duck, and a tail like a beaver.
  • The females lay eggs like a snake and feed their young milk, but they don't have nipples, the young suck on the fur.
  • As they swim they close their eyes and ears. They feel for food with their leathery bill which has special nerves in it to sense food. They are usually out looking for food before dawn and a few hours before sunset.
  • Platypuses don't have teeth they crush their food between their jaws.
  • Males are larger than females and have a hollow claw like spur on its hind legs. The spurs are connected to poison glands this is their protection device.
  • A platypus can be up to 45cms long and weigh up to 2.3 kgs.

Natural beauty
Natural beauty

 

Platypus
Platypus- (photo Courtesy of Dave Watts)

To see these creatures in the wild is something very special. There are lots of places to see them in captivity but to really appreciate this unique creature you should try your luck, while staying at Platypus Park Country Retreat, to spot them in the river or dams.

Hairy-nosed wombat
Hairy- nosed wombat

Robin red-breast
Robin red-breast
Native hen
Native hen
  • Take the kids trout fishing in the Brid River or dams on the property.
  • Stroll through the farm, help feed the chooks,Or try your luck at spotting a platypus.
  • Everyone has a great time indulging in the space of 40 acres and watching the cattle roam. 
Natural bush setting
Natural bush setting