A cloudy morning turned into yet another beautiful day. A day filled with plant propagation, seed collection and interesting chat, the last day of my volunteering month was completed. Loving every minute of the project work, further volunteering opportunities may be considered. Keen to see the output of a week of seedling work, I may well be back in July to help plant some of the many trees, perhaps some that I have sown, into the ground.

The day finished, high visibility vest free, we were given the opportunity to see some of the island. Passing by the American River, atop the 512 steps of Prospect Hill and surrounded by the waves at Pennington Bay I was blown away by the island. Truly beautiful and only a fraction covered. With time in between, I was able to reflect on the weeks that had passed.

Week 1, with perhaps not a lot of conservation aims achieved, I was able to reconnect with old friends, embrace other cultures, learn a language and make new friends. A hard week personally, I am glad that there were so many interesting people around. Week 2, an embracing of the non native challenge and the finding of a place that lets me feel free. Week 3, the learning of a new skill and a reminder of why I left Scotland. Week 4, undoubtedly the best conservation wise, but perhaps not for meeting people, I have achieved the aim I sought. Reflecting, perhaps this time of year in Australia is not the best for a variety of conservation work, however, my week on Kangaroo island has let me see that conservation work focused on creation of life rather than maintaining areas would be a potential career interest. Happily staying on kangaroo island, being paid for the work I had undertaken would be no problem! With the onward journey edging round the corner, I will be looking for myaporum and pine trees out of the corner of my eye!

A last supper BBQ at Hog Bay, luggage van loaded, we watched the sunset over kangaroo island as we headed back east. A truly awesome week, I think it was a decision well made!