Eumundi Markets & Hervey Bay
Although there are some market stalls open every day, the main market ramps up on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Luckily, today was a Wednesday. I'm usually 50/50 about markets, it can really vary depending on the stall holders, along with the "vibe". I was in for a suprise at Eumindi - it was a MASSIVE market with a huge variety of stalls and products, almost all handmade by artisans. But one of the best aspects was the large number of musicians dotted around the place playing live music - it really added to the atmosphere. Two artists in particular grabed my attention. Firstly Matt James who played the Didge, guitars, wooden flute, synth, etc to produce some amazing ethereal "Australian" tracks. I stayed for quite a while (and went back a second time) to hear his music. I liked it so much I bought the CD. I also promised I'd put a link to his website in my blog:
http://mattjames.com.au/v2/
(I did record some video of him on my iPhone, but it's nowhere near as good as the samples of music available on his web site - so go have a listen. I promise I'm not being paid for this plug!!!)
The second artist playing by himself was Tom Richardson - I'm sure he doesn't like comparisons, but a little like John Butler. He was using a digital sampler, and using just his guitar he was able to lay down different aspects to a track (Bass, rythym, backing vocals) and produce some amazing sounds by accompanying himself with the samples - turning them on/off live - sounded like a full band!! ... I bought his CD.
I also watched an artisan making rings from old cuttlery by hand. Although I'm not big on jewellry I was definitely in the "hippy vibe" by this time and decided to buy one of the rings.
After some lunch I did a few more laps of the market. Although it was getting a bit busier by this time (which made it a little harder to get around) it still had a great vibe that I was soaking up. It was fantastic and I had this feeling that my trip had "finally begun" - not sure why now...
Back to the van and looking at the map I thought I'd aim for Hervey Bay, via Maryborough. The going was a little slow due to the reduced speed limit on the Bruce Highway in this area, along with all the stop/go roadworks. Although the roadworks are really slowing my progress, I'm happy to see them and really hope they improve the road safety on the Bruce Highway, because it's quite sad to see how many little crosses are dotted along the road commemorating people that have died. On some stretches, there is literally one every couple of KMs.
Stopped into Tourist Info in Hervey Bay (almost always my first stop in a new town), and got a map, along with some recommendations for various Whale Watching and Fraser Island tours. It was interesting that key caravan parks along the beach were all run by the council, and that the more commercial caravan parks (Big4, Top Tourist etc) were inland. I felt I wanted to stay close to the beach, so I pulled into the first council park. The facilities were pretty basic (what I'd call and "old fashioned" caravan park), but perfectly OK, and they had powered sites.
At check-in I asked the guy about tours and he recommended a couple for me (he used to run whale watching tours). After looking at the brochures for a while I went back and booked a tour for tomorrow.
I then decided to go for a swim - it was still warm and the water looked absolutey beautiful. Also because of the fact that Fraser Island blocks the swell, there was virtually no surf. But strangely, there was no one else in the water. After a few minutes, I think I figured out why - I felt a small sting on my arm. Nothing serious, just a little pin prick. Then another on back and neck. These weren't painful, just marginally annoying - I guess that's why no one else is swimming !!!
