So I was able to head over to the hospital the next day and thankfully the weather this time around was a lot better. Had to wait for two hours but I didn’t mind much. As long as I was able to get the test done I was happy.
It’s actually a super uncomfortable test. They do two swabs. The first is the normal swab. To the back of the throat just like they would do if you were getting a strep test. The second is down through your nose to the back of your skull it feels like. Not my favorite experience.
Over the last few days, the weather has been really great so I walked around the town and just checked out what it was all about. Not much really doing here. If you surf then this would probably be heaven for you. And I think I’ll give surfing a try. I have the time to do it. And you can rent a surfboard for free at the hostel. I just need to find a good teacher and some people to learn with.
The main thing to see here is the lighthouse so I walked up there yesterday afternoon. The cape is like a small national park and it was nice because you actually feel like you are hiking through the bush to get there. When you finally reach the cape you’re greeted by a sign that exclaims “Most Easterly Point Of The Australian Mainland”. So I guess I was able to knock that off the list.
I imagine I’ll be spending a lot of time on the beach while I’m here. The hostel is right across the street from the beach. So whenever I’m heading back from town I can walk down the beach. That’s a nice change of pace from Sydney.
I’ve also been putting together my application for an Australian Visitors Visa over the last few days. Thankfully, I have some friends that I know here and they were open to letting me put their names down on the application. I think I’ll have a better chance of it being approved if I actually have some people to visit here compared to applying just because I want to travel around some more.
The only painful part of the process is that you have to pay a $250 application fee. And if you’re rejected you don’t see that money again. So I’m going to give it another day and make sure everything looks as good as it possibly can before I submit it.
It’s a big deal because the next few months are riding on this application getting accepted. And I don’t feel like spending the money and having to head back to the United States in a month’s time. I think it would be awesome if I was able to wait this thing out in Australia and continue my travels some time in the future. I would be proud of my ability to do that. But right now I don’t have control of the situation.