Bugged

I set my alarm early and raced against the clock to work on a funding proposal before we headed for the field for two weeks and lost any reliable internet connection.

We are forming part of a team undertaking biodiversity surveys in Chimanimani National Reserve. An idea was cooked up that would bring the expertise from Gorongosa National Park, the jewel in the crown of Mozambique's protected area estate. Gorongosa runs an on-site masters course for Mozambican students and does teaching surveys covering various biological taxa throughout the year. They agreed to do two weeks in Chimanimani this year, which is a fantastic opportunity for our goal of trying to showcase the Reserve's biodiversity.

At camp on the first evening one of the entomologists erected this sheet and lamp to attract buglife. A carpet of beetles was soon crawling all over the material.

The last few days have wiped me out so I needed to sleep very early. I couldn't keep my eyes open even as Bart the botanist was telling me a gripping story about living in Zimbabwe for twenty years, only to lose everything when the country was plunged into chaos, his business bankrupted and his home ransacked.