Tasmanian voices
Platypus dreaming - a cold creek morning

Mist slowly rising from the water

Hanging in space and time

Blanketing the surface of a dark - unknown world

encroaching on the rocky banks

Grasses and low bushes reflecting through in the weak sunlight

shining orbs of moisture on their tips
 

The chill is real and sharp

Held in the rocks and absorbed by dark ground

Slowly dissipating to the approaching warmth

The day warming slowly along the Tyenna river

Fallen trees reflecting in the water downstream

Waiting for the day to come

High above on gnarled branches eagles watch for movement

flashes of silver below

Ferns hanging down thickly over rocky outcrops

Hues of green and brown painted on the ground

Covering the banks and hidden spaces

Morning calm and stillness along the waterway

Platypus dreaming on a cold creek morning
 

Movement near the bank

Ripples on glass

Circles extending out and disappearing

Bubbles floating up amongst the grasses

Shadows seen briefly

Movement ever so slight on the edge
 

Sunlight slowly burning off the mists of the night

Reflecting as diamonds on the waters surface

Warming sandstone slabs and broken granite

Providing respite from the grasp of darkness

Small animals return to greet the day
 

Shadows and movement again from the bank

Leading out languidly into the flow

A silver brown gleam as slick fur breaks the surface momentarily

Shimmering movement gliding across the flat greyness
 

A dark shape growing longer - larger

Slow motion dancing

A head and soft beak appear

A tail following

Moving quietly through the cold liquid

And then dissolving again below
 

Then reappearing further down stream

Silent as before

Slowly edging to the deep recesses under the bank

Diving quietly several times

Nuzzling into the soft mud on the bank

Then surfacing

shaking from side to side as breakfast is consumed
 

On the banks sounds amongst the leaves,

movement as well - sounds of the bush creatures greeting the day

birds singing in the morning light and warmth

Songs welcoming the approaching morn

Brightening the cold creek below


The shadow and shape in the water is now gone

A quiet flick of the tail and the water returns to calm

The platypus is gone, back to the warmth of the nest

Waiting to resume a tour of the river again in the still afternoon

Visiting the creek in the soft afternoon light

If we are lucky we may catch sight of the river phantom again

                                       . . .

Memories of a platypus sighting in the early morning on the Tyenna river at Mount Field National Park in 2023.


Dr Geoff Wilmshurst spent 40 years as a professional teacher in disability education. He now spends his time travelling , writing and painting, and enjoying life with his wife Lorraine. He lives in the Blue Mountains in NSW, and finds inspiration for his work in its environment and that of similar places such as Tasmania and New Zealand. He hopes through art and poetry to connect with others, to make a positive difference in their lives, and to share the experience of what it means to be human and part of the natural world.