Last Days in Australia

Australian Sojourn – March 2023 • Part 8

Although I returned to Minnesota two days ago from my month-long visit to Australia, I still have a few photos to share both from my time with family and friends and of the beauty of the Great South Land.

And so today I share the last installment of my series documenting my March 2023 Australian sojourn. (To start at the beginning of this series, click here.)

After the trip that Mum and I made to our hometown of Gunnedah, I spent the last week of my Australian sojourn with Mum in Port Macquarie, her home since 2002. During this time we lunched with her friends, watched movies at night (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Callas Forever), spent a lovely afternoon at Rainbow Beach in nearby Bonny Hills, and visited my brother Tim and sister-in-law in Forster-Tuncurry, a little over an hour south of Port Macquarie. It was, in short, a very special time.

Above: Mum and I enjoying lunch at Port Macquarie’s West Port Club with my cousin Sharon and her husband Ross.


Left: With Mum’s niece and my cousin Sharon.

Above: Mum with friends (from left) Ken, Yvonne, Mary, and Daphne – Friday, March 31, 2023.



Right: With Daphne.

Above: On the rock platform at the south end of Port Macquarie’s Town Beach – Thursday, March 30, 2023.

I experience this rock platform as sacred ground, as I write about here, here and here.

Above: With my brother Tim – Tuesday, March 28, 2023.

Above: More Guruk beauty.



Right: During my last days in Australia I made good use of the rashie that the McGowan family gifted me with when I recently spent time with them in Yamba. I wore it when I went swimming at both Port Macquarie’s Town Beach and Flynns Beach.

Above and below: With Mum at Rainbow Beach in Bonny Hills, a quiet little town just south of Port Macquarie – Saturday, April 1, 2023.

I mentioned that one of the movies Mum and I watched together was Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

The photos I took of Mum on Rainbow Beach remind me of the scene in Wakanda Forever when Queen Ramonda (played by Angela Basset) stands on the beach waiting to meet Namor. Mum embodies that same beauty, dignity and fortitude as the Queen of Wakanda!

Above: With Mum and Tim – Sunday, April 2, 2023.

Above: Tim and I in Forster – April 2, 2023.

Above: Tuncurry, which is immediately adjacent to its twin town of Forster. The Coolongolook River separates the two towns.

Above: My sister-in-law Ros snapped this pic of me in Forster on Sunday, April 2, 2023.

Above: When visiting Tim and Ros in Forster I found out that I’m a direct descendant of King Edward III of England! This came to light thanks to the research of Ros, who is very much into genealogy, the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages.

Above: Catching up with my good friend Garth in Sydney, the night before returning to the U.S. – Monday, April 3, 2023.

Above: Sydney Airport on the morning of my departure from Australia – Tuesday, April 4, 2023.


NEXT: Out and About – Spring 2023


For previous installments in the “Australian Sojourn – March 2023” series, see:
• Central Station
• Goulburn
• Melbourne
• Guruk
• Mooloolaba
• Yamba
• Gunnedah

Images: Michael J. Bayly.