European Wilderness Volunteer DiaryThe Diary of the European Wilderness Society Volunteers

Author - Rebecca Hollely

Eat Sleep Wilderness Repeat

So slow mornings with coffee, followed by a bicycle ride and a dash of sunshine. Dreamy, no? And it was, I did all my favourite things. I cooked and listened to podcasts and talked to friends and family and watched the sky turn pink. But I have a habit of thinking too much when I slow down, and things felt a little bit lonely. Those big questions popped up; what am I....

Hello Salzburg

So Monday dawned and I parked myself back in the office, ready for whatever the week wanted to throw at me. I wasn’t at my desk for long before Anni called and asked if I wanted to go back to the Wilderness Camps for more pictures with different school classes, and then pick up a visitor at the station. I didn’t have to be asked twice. A scenic drive, and then over....

A dose of time travel

Medieval festival, an unconventional workout and an electric fence. Saturday was a case in point of why I love my team, and their wild spontaneity. I woke up to a text from Max asking if I wanted to join them on a trip to Mauterndorf Medieval Festival. I didn’t have to think twice, my answer was a solid yes. Mauterndorf is perhaps the prettiest village in the Lungau....

Oh Vienna

A grand library, new friends and 383 billion seconds. It’s been another whirlwind of a week – this time mostly in Vienna. Part of being an EVS volunteer includes arrival training, which is in Austria’s capital of Vienna. The training is useful to help volunteers understand and make the most of their time in Austria, but it’s also an opportunity to meet other....

Throwing myself into the unknown

Flying Fox and a Quest for a Bicycle One of the biggest changes that I’ve had to accommodate into life in Austria, is to let go of routines and planning. I mentioned a few weeks ago that I had to learn to embrace a more spontaneous life because the weather makes planning a hopeless task, but I’ve also come to accept that even without considering the weather, I need....

Let’s Get Wild

Wednesday was a long day but definitely the highlight of the week – basically a road trip. The Let’s Get Wild project is a school residential project running in Kalkalpen National Park, that allows children to reconnect with and observe the natural environment, and learn about national parks, wildlife, wilderness and skills such as orienteering. It’s an EWS project....

Smoking with the kids

Kangaroo-dog, cloudberries and a road trip. My weekend followed the theme of previous weekends – predominantly nature, which I am loving. It involved a long ramble up the Lasaberg, a hill just outside my front door, and a hike in Wießpriach with the EVS volunteers from Salzburg, who had all piled into a bus to visit the Lungau. Nature and good spirits So the....

Fresh air in my lungs

Untrammelled land, positive thoughts and the Sound of Music. It was a busy week (as they are all turning out to be!) I spent my days in the office, a combination of reading, writing and odd jobs, such as creating an inventory for the fencing kits I mentioned last week, and making envelopes for Wilderness certificates (I discovered industrial Sellotape dispensers and....

Losing my “river virginity”

At the end of my full second week in Austria, I find myself sitting at my desk and looking back on my week with contentment. I’ve settled into the office – I’m surrounded by post-it notes with random German words and phrases I scribbled down hastily, I have a little banana stash on the corner of my desk, and I no longer have to google silly things like ‘where....

Hello from Austria!

As I stepped off the plane onto Austrian soil, I had very little knowledge of what I was jumping into. I had spent my flight in a jitter of nerves, face pressed against the window as I was graced with my first views of the Alps. They looked so steep… and they were snowcapped! I was delighted to be seeing mountains. For the last few weeks, whenever I had been speaking....