Yesterday, I got a call from Emma, I am leaving. The Conservation Research Africa Trustees have said everyone needs to return home. This is crazy. When she rang we were out getting supplies (mainly Gin as we had everything else) before we went on our own lockdown. Then we had to suddenly go to the travel agents to find out what the flight situation is. Apparently flights out of Malawi stop in three days time. Flights to South Africa have already stopped, so Dom has no way home. Most of the travel agents are closed, either because it is the weekend but a lot of them are closed due to corona. Brennan heads to the airport to check what the desk there says. Flights have gone up in price even more now.

A couple of hours later Emma confirms she has got me and Chirag on a flight back to the UK. For being booked for the next day at 2pm, less than 24 hours away! Dom though is not going to be able to go home as South Africa have closed the border. Brennan is also staying put, I am glad as at least Dom isn’t going to be completely alone. I feel so bad, but have no other option. If I say no now, I might not be able to get back any time soon. I don’t have the financial backing to pay thousands for flights home…

Back at camp, I begin my pouring myself a G&T and putting the cava Bridge had brought me over in the fridge for later! I then begin to start packing my room… I have to suddenly pack up back for the UK, not only my house but I also need to go back up to the office and sort data out and put things in order here. Did not expect this. Dom and Mara keep me company as I start to pack up my stuff. This is so hard, so many memories and so sudden. It is worse because of not having time to process it all.

I am glad we managed to at least have a cool week despite everything, radio tracking bats, finding new roosts and even managed to get to go to Flavours café which I love! I also sadly got Troopy stuck one light as a thunderstorm was coming in too… not good as we had to rush back through camp in the bush. We also had Mara with us too for the adventure. Deffo went out with a bang on that one… Me, Dom, Veronica and Chirag have a teary tipsy evening of packing in disbelief of what is going on. Veronica’s flight has been cancelled which was supposed to leave beginning of April, but thankfully Brennan has managed to get her on a plane out on Tuesday back to the UK, which is going to be the last flight out of the country…