Eumundi Transformation

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Saturday 27th November – a couple of things are on our minds at the moment – the cold and snowy weather in much of the UK and the Ashes Test Match in Brisbane. We feel very lucky to be here in Aus with a temperature average of about 30 degrees and not having to cope with snow, ice and the cold. We are listening to coverage of the test match when we can – it’s a bit too close at the moment but we’re just getting the upper hand – go the Poms!!

Every Saturday and Wednesday mornings the small, quiet town of Eumundi transforms itself into a colourful, noisy and bustling place. So today we were up and away by about 7.45am and on our way to Eumundi Markets. They are well known throughout Queensland and beyond so with Christmas rapidly approaching we thought it would be worth a day out. We put Sat Nav on but Graham, thinking he knew better, chose to ignore it so we went round Cooray a couple of times unnecessarily! But as Eumundi was only about 20 kms from Tewantin it didn’t matter too much. The first thing we saw as we got to the outskirts of the town was a long line of parked cars and an even longer queue of cars further on. There were still some spaces by the parked cars so we grabbed one quick and parked up. It was a cloudy day and there had already been a shower so we took our anoraks and umbrella with us. It was a relatively short and interesting walk to the centre going past some lovely old buildings. We were pleased we had parked where we did as nearer the market the traffic was chaotic!

When we reached the market area we got quite a shock – there were stalls as far as we could see and in all directions. I knew that I would have a wonderful time here but would Graham enjoy it? Before we had gone too far along one of the avenues of stalls we came upon a stage where a sort of reggae group was playing. They were very good and there was plenty of seating in that area so Graham would have somewhere interesting to escape to. We wandered around together for a while and then we arranged to meet after half an hour or so to give me some leeway to take my time. Soon the heavens opened and it tipped down with rain but luckily there was a lot of cover and anyway I had my anorak with me. We met up for a coffee and, for only the second time on this trip, we had an egg and bacon roll. Mmm it was delicious so we sat and relaxed for a while before I had to get back to the serious business of shopping! Near the food stall was a chap singing country and western songs. He was good too but I preferred the reggae band which was still going strong a little way away. Graham was very happy to wander a bit and then sit listening to the band. There were several musical ensembles spread throughout the market so he was in his element and so was I. Off I went again. This time I went across the road to another section of the market and I found quite a few goodies there. I was doing really well with my Christmas shopping although I hadn’t given too much consideration to how we would pack those that had to go to the UK or how much it would cost to send them. Oh well, it’s for Christmas so I would worry about that later!

I met up with Graham again and we strolled in another direction to yet more stalls and there was a very nice jewelry stall run by a young English lady who had emigrated four years earlier. Naturally I had to buy something from her! We watched an artist who was busy doing caricatures – one of his customers was a chap and his seven month old daughter. Grandma was there to keep her amused as it took about 20 minutes per drawing but she was a dear little soul who always seemed to be smiling anyway. Mum would soon be getting a very original “surprise” birthday present!

We had lunch in one of the local pubs which gave me time to consider what I still needed to buy then off I went again. The stallholders were just beginning to pack things away by now but I still managed to get another item or two. Eventually we made our way back towards Tewantin but took a detour to the Tinbeerwah Lookout. It was quite a long steep drive up to the parking area and then it was a one km walk up to the highest lookout but it was certainly worth the effort as the views across the bay were stunning even on a cloudy day. We’d just got back to the car when down the rain came again. That was just about it for the day but we both agreed that even a market can be exciting! Well done Eumundi.

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