CAIRNS, Australia--After four days exporing the sights of Melbourne, the Coyote women's basketball team packed up their bags and hopped on a plane to Cairns. Located on the northeast coast of Australia, the Coyotes spent the afternoon at Palm Cove Beach. Cairns is also near the Great Barrier Reef and has a Wildlife Dome, which the Coyotes will explore over the next two days.
Today's blog comes from sophomore guard
Allison Arens.
Hello from Cairns, Australia!
Today was another great day with a great group of people. The majority of the day was spent traveling. We left our hotel in Melbourne at 7 a.m. and headed to the airport. The flight was a three hours and took us straight to Cairns. Compared to the 17-hour flight it took us to get here, this flight was a breeze. The view coming into Cairns was beautiful! We could see the blue water down below, massive ships on the water and white beaches from our airplane windows. When we reached Cairns, the first thing we noticed was a temperature change. It didn't take us long and we were in shorts and tank tops.
Next stop: the beach. The beach is something we have been talking about the whole trip! We all imagined a peaceful day on the beach with sunny skies, white beaches and still blue waters. When we got there we were in a bit of shock! The beaches were white and the water was blue, but the sky was cloudy and the water was rough! The temperature was a perfect 78 degrees but with the wind blowing through it made it a little chilly. This beach was not like any of the beaches we have in South Dakota. It is lined with little beach side shops, cafes, mini marts, clothing stores and hotels.
Even though the wind was a little chilly, it didn't stop the Yotes from jumping in! We had a blast running into the water and trying to avoid getting knocked over by huge waves. A few girls spent hours in the water, others enjoyed walking along the dock and some were even able to witness a wedding taking place right on the beach shore. By about 5 p.m., after countless mouthfuls of salt water and sand everywhere, we were ready to head to the hotel.
Our hotel is located towards the center of Cairns. We are in a great location next to many restaurants and ice cream shops, which we took advantage of when it came to supper time. We walked to a restaurant a couple of blocks from our hotel, where we ate as a team and then were fortunate enough to get ice cream after.
It was truly another great day with a bunch of awesome people! I would like to thank everyone with us and back at home for making this trip possible. I feel as if I speak for the whole team when I say that this is an experience we will never forget and one we will forever be grateful for!
- Allison Arens
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