Platypus in the wild!
I was so stoked to see a Platypus in the wild for the first time in my life the other day. They are very rare to see as they are quite shy animals. If you are out and about and see a bunch of bubbles rising up to the surface of a river, and are patient and quiet, you might just be lucky enough to see one for yourself. They tend to pop up to the surface swim for a few seconds then straight back down. This little guy even came right up to me in the shallow water shaking its bill back and forth through the sand looking for food.
They are the weirdest looking animals with a bill like a duck, a tail like a beaver and feet like an otter. Apparently they thought it was a hoax when first encountered and I can see why. The platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) also known as the duck-billed platypus is a semiaquatic egg-laying mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Together with the four species of echidna, it is one of the five extant species of monotremes, the only mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth. It is the sole living representative of its family (Ornithorhynchidae) and genus (Ornithorhynchus), though a number of related species have been found in the fossil record. You can read all about it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platypus Blown Ford XA Falcon - Bathurst Autofest, Mt. PanoramaOne of the many impressive cars at the 2015 Bathurst Autofest is this Blown Ford XA Falcon. And what a backdrop. Love seeing the old school muscle cars out and about. So much time and money poured in to these impressive machines. Rays of hope - Pulpit Rock, Blackheath, NSW, AustraliaThis was the view of the storm after it passed over looking to the north. As the solid storm clouds started to break up it allowed the sun to shine through the gaps making beautiful light rays contrasting against the dark black clouds. It was cool to see the light spots in the valley and correlate those to the gaps in the clouds above. I really enjoyed my little adventure out to Pulpit rock. I hope you have enjoyed the best of the many photos I took while there. Thanks for all the feedback, on the last couple of photos. Happy hump day! Sunshine after the Storm - Pulpit Rock, Blackheath, NSW, AustraliaThe warm sun was nice on my back after the cold ferocious winds roared through the valley while I sheltered in the cave nearby. I had a great view of the storm rolling over Pulpit Rock and ventured out after the rain had ceased to capture this view of the valley. I really liked the leading lines of the fence as well as the before and after type view; with half the valley in sun and half under dark dark clouds. I was tempted to hang around and for the sunset, but it was still a good 3 hours away and thought I had been there long enough already. The image yesterday was exactly to my right of this shot and I think I will share one more image from this trip of the view to the left. Autumn begins with a bang at Pulpit RockPulpit Rock, Blackheath, NSW, Australia Well, what a great experience. I was out at this lookout for a few hours and was able to watch this storm cell form from virtually nothing, roll right over the top of me and diffuse in the north. This shot was taken about 10mins before this storm hit. And hit it did. I was down taking photos from the chair when the big rain drops started hitting. I grabbed my gear and quickly retreated to a nearby cave. Just in time the wind was cranking, and it was pouring rain. I think the temperature dropped about 10 degrees in minutes and I have never seen such intense rain and wind so close to a cliff.. Rain was shooting up out of the valley at crazy speed. I was so grateful for that cave, my umbrella would not have done a thing in retrospect. After about 30mins the rain stopped and I was able to venture out and grab a few more shots as the sun came out and lit half the valley while the other half was covered in black cloud. I got some nice shots which I will share sometime soon. Well if you got to the end of this novel, I'm impressed. Hope your week is off to a good start! |
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