When we were younger, we recall hearing stories about life before human settlement on the landmass of Aotearoa. Large birds roaming freely, without predators, highly unique and endemic birds however, across time we’ve lost many species such as the Moa and Huia. Before coming to Bali we’d researched the Bali Starling, an icon of the island, and became interested in conservation efforts as it is endemic and critically endangered. We headed into Bali West National Park to partner with Plataran Menjangan to go into the wild to spot the Bali Starling, then onto their breeding sanctuary and it was empowering to see the efforts the local villages are taking to ensure the Starling survives this generation and beyond. The call, sound and aesthetic of the Bird is different to any other we have experienced and surprisingly of a very small wild population, we spotted three in the National Park while we were there. A further highlight was to spend time learning more about the endemic tree planting endeavours and we wish to celebrate the model Plataran Menjangan has for learning tourism as we are inspired by their considerable conservation efforts and their generosity to share their knowledge with us.