“Paddling with the Platypus” in the Otways region of the Great Ocean Road is one of those activities hard to find on any holiday – that comes with an almost ironclad guarantee of a good time.

With platypi abundant in the hinterlands of the Great Ocean Road, owner Bruce Jackson, who is a qualified biologist, very able canoeist, guide and tea-maker, is so sure  of seeing one of these shy, fabled Australian creatures that a discount is offered in the case you don’t.

Just getting to the lake, and paddling gently around this natural cathedral of Otway rainforest, is an enriching experience in itself.

Based in the Otways town of Forrest where Bruce lives, the trip begins at his “office” so early in the morning that the sun has yet to rise. Driving to the carpark in the Great Otway National Park, abumpy road trip of about 10-15 minutes there’s a 20 minute walk along an old river bed, past pools fringed with deep green ferns Naturally, there is always the added excitement of seeing other local wildlife along the way

Finally, when the enormity of the Great Ocean Road’s region is far behind you, you reach a small wharf on the lake’s edge.  where visitors are requested to wait while Bruce disappears into the bushes to fetch his sturdy green canoe.

The roaring silences, the deep breathes of pure air are worth the price of admission alone, but the experience is only just starting.

When Bruce suddenly re-appears from behind a clump of reeds, paddling smoothly to the wharf, he invites his visitors to clamber on board.Soon they are out in the surreal world that is Lake Elizabeth, a lake was formed in 1952 by a landslide on the East Barwon River, surrounded by the great, ghostly totems of dead trees, mists rising from the water. The soft splash of the paddle and Bruce’s expert commentary are a far cry from the traffic noises heard up on the Great ocean Road and it’s hard to believe that these two extremities of natural beauty co-exist in the same area.

As Bruce brings his fellow travellers up to speed with all this, and the life of times of the unique monotreme that quickly called the new Lake Elizabeth home, he suddenly says in an excited whisper: “Platypus at 12 o’clock.”

And before anyone can say “we don’t have to wait that long do we?” his charges realise he means straight ahead … over the bow of the boat.

Another wonderful silence then descends as the silvery figure drifts across the water and a deep euphoria takes hold.  The fine sighting of a platypus – in the wild.

Then another …  swimming between two of those dead trees … where he saw him yesterday. Bruce knows the platypus and their daily rituals intimately.

A break on a little sandy beach on the far side of the lake provides visitors a chance to reflect and munch on a tasty snack of rich fruitcake. Sitting on a fallen log in this special place with no hint of the Great Ocean Road, let alone an entire outside world, visitors can be forgiven for thinking that Bruce has the best job on the planet.

And as he paddles them back to the wharf, hides his canoe and then rejoins his visitors for the walk back to the car park, he might even admit that from at least all those working in tourism along the Great Ocean Road, he probably does.

For more information visit www.platypustours.net.au