Mango Madness at the Drive-Thru

 I adore fruit bats. Really, I do. These mammals with their cute little faces and gorgeous brown eyes are nature's little gardeners who spread their seeds far and wide and help pollinate more than 100 species of native trees.

Flying-foxes spread the pollen of valuable plants as they feed, so they play an important role in our environment. Some plants even rely on flying-foxes to pollinate their species.

~ Wildlife Preservation Society of Qld

 We need these noisy, furry, flying gardeners to help our environment flourish and although grey-headed flying foxes are listed as vulnerable, and I'm optimistic we can help get their numbers back up.

Grey-headed flying fox colony, Lowood Queensland

 Grey-headed flying foxes (Pteropus poliocephalus) shown above, are also known as fruit bats or megabats and are a warm-blooded mammal native to Australia. They're also our largest bats.

 The bat image was taken mid-afternoon and the colony quiet, except for the occasional squabble, screech, scream, and yoga wing stretch.

 Speaking of yoga wing stretch, it was interesting to watch them stretch their wings (around 1 metre or 3.3 feet across), then wrap themselves up again. For some reason, this reminded me of stuffed cabbage leaves.

 But, they're not always at their roost 😉 

Vibrant, Colourful, Eclectic - Eumundi Markets Rock

Eumundi, a little township on the Sunshine Coast, is home to the well-known Eumundi Market and is an easy 118 km car trip from Brisbane's CBD. 

According to the 2016 Australian Bureau of Statistics, Eumundi has a population of 2200.  With approximately 1.6 million visitors per year, Eumundi's population bursts at the seams during peak times, especially during Wednesday and Saturday market days.

Eumundi has a vibrant, colourful and vibe as do the 600 stallholders - it's peace, sustainability and experience to be had.

Colourful piano along Memorial Drive Eumundi

 The Eumundi Market is eclectic, colourful, bohemian and huge. If you're into markets, it's a place to visit - I try to, at least once a year.

 Fresh produce and food stalls are stocked and ready for the influx of visitors, gorgeous bunches of fresh-cut flowers can be bought if you're early enough, there's a huge selection of arts and craft, jewellery and fashion, health and wellbeing products, psychic readings, and more. 

 Once I arrive at the markets you'll find me chowing down on knackwurst with sauerkraut and a generous squirt of mustard, sampling various flat whites with soy and trying to look cool.