Plain knackered

We knew it was a mistake after an overnight flight and 5am landing to head one hour out of Nairobi to the home of Philip, who shares our Juba compound and with whom there is always much to discuss. He has a fantastic South Sudan natural history and conservation library to raid, when not too tired. We were smoothly away from the airport and a public holiday in Kenya made the notorious roads easier to handle.

After a few hours of discussion and a tasty breakfast, we thought a game drive around the ranch on which Philip lives would boost energy levels. It was a gargantuan struggle to stay awake, which periodically failed. A shame as the land hosts a good amount of wildlife such as giraffe, zebra, ostrich and eland, all of which were seen through half-open eyelids.

Thank the lord for Labour Day meaning we couldn't organise any meetings for the rest of the day. I had a necessary four-hour nap instead and was vaguely human by the evening. These overnight flights are a killer and I'm getting worse at bouncing back after them.