And then there were bats...

LOTS of bats.

Cairns has lots of mango trees - a fruit bat spa - so to speak.  We would see them flying out at night by the hundreds.  It just so happens, we ate dinner right across the street one evening from where they live and it was an incredible show. 

I have mentioned how large the bats several times to various people.  Hopefully these pictures will give you an idea of their size.

The trees are covered in them.  This is just one example of how close they are packed together during the day.

During the day, the trees seem to be alive as they continue to move and fan themselves to stay cool.

 Up close...they look like they have fuzzy scratch-able tummies but I'm really not interested in finding out.

When they come out and at night, the noise / screeching is something to behold.  Each evening as they were flying overhead, I thought about my friend that really doesn't like the bats and their noise.  She happens to be going on holiday in Cairns early next year and I kept thinking...Oh...she isn't going to like this one bit!

We used to have some that lived near our house but a recent storm took out their tree and we have not seen them since.  When visitors arrive, we will have to go look elsewhere!