E phatlaladitšwe: 22.03.2020
Initially, it seemed that New Zealand could escape the whole corona madness thanks to its island status and very early travel restrictions for travelers from China. I had hoped that instead of continuing to Latin America, I could simply stay in New Zealand. But now corona has definitely arrived here as well. As of March 21, there are 66 cases. People are starting to stock up on supplies, swimming pools, libraries, and museums have been closed. Universities are switching to e-learning. Those over 70 are called to stay at home. But everyone else is also encouraged to practice social distancing and travel as little as possible. This is level 2 of crisis management. For me, this means that it is difficult to find Workaway hosts because they are either afraid of getting infected or have provided their guest apartment for self-isolation to a family member returning from abroad. Airbnb is also becoming more difficult because many people rent out a room in their house and not a whole apartment. And sooner or later, hostels and hotels may also close.
Therefore, I have decided to cancel my trip (or as my uncle optimistically put it, "interrupt" it). On April 2nd, I will fly back to Frankfurt via Doha. That is, if the flight traffic is not completely suspended by then.
I hope you are all doing well and I hope it stays that way.
To cheer you up, I have uploaded some pictures of my activities in the last few weeks.