Holidays: Sunshine Coast - Eumundi Markets

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Sunshine Coast - Eumundi Markets

The Eumundi Markets, at Eumundi south of Noosa, have been operating since 1979 and now have 600 stalls for visitors to browse. The market is open on Wednesday 8.00 am to 1.30 pm and on Saturdays from 7.00 am to 2.00 pm.

We visited the market on a Saturday arriving at around 9 o'clock. We had been warned that parking could be a problem but there is a large parking area with the parking fee going to community projects so this was not an issue. However people who arrived later in the morning would have had problems as the car park rapidly filled.

The market began as a craft market showcasing the work of local crafts-people and continues to do this but it also has a wide range of stalls (some were outlets for shops) selling clothing, food and other items as well as those offering massage, tarot card readings and other alternative lifestyle solutions.

It is a colourful and often noisy environment to explore. With so many stalls they are spread out on more than one location. Buskers entertain and at some points chairs were arranged for the public to listen to speakers or watch a demonstration.

The fruit and vegetable stalls had a good range of products but as we were returning home the next day we could only look. We did, however purchase T-shirts for the grandchildren, an over-shirt for me and some small wooden items including another turtle for our collection, plus a pelican. The stall holder gave us a toy turtle gratis. On the way back to the car we were looking for ice cream and saw a sign that Lief Chocolates sold honeycomb ice cream and Belgium chocolate ice cream, both of which were very good.