Wildlife Land Trust / Sanctuaries / NSW / Platypus Creek

Paul Fischer and Kathryn Zaknic are the owners of Platypus Creek, a property located approximately 20km north west of Brunswick Heads. The property is a dedicated wildlife sanctuary as well as a residence. It is Paul and Kathryn’s intent to continue to use the property for conservation and wildlife protection, specifically by continuing native revegetation and weed eradication works conducted over the last five years.

Platypus Creek covers approximately 2.6 hectares and is roughly triangular in shape with three quarters of the land relatively level and the remainder sloping and densely vegetated. A meandering creek and a swamp at the rear of the property provide important water sources for local wildlife. Vegetation types include riparian rainforest with many indigenous species including some rare reeds.

Wildlife species known to inhabit the area includes platypuses (Ornithorhynchus anatinus), swamp wallabies (Wallabia bicolor), eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus), short-beaked echidnas (Tachyglossus aculeatus), ringtail (Pseudocheirus peregrinus) and brushtail (Trichosurus vulpecula) possums, long-nosed bandicoots (Perameles nasuta), lace monitors (Varanus varius), Australian brush-turkeys (Alectura lathami), eastern brown snakes (Pseudonaja textilis), eastern long-necked turtles (Chelodina longicollis), eels (Anguilla spp.), freshwater catfish (Tandanus tandanus) and black cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus spp.).