Ballooning Down Under

Several years ago while watching "Survivor Africa" a couple of the participants won a hot air balloon ride over the Massai Mara area.  It looked very exciting.  I made a promise to myself that someday.....  Well, someday arrived when I was visiting Australia.  When we arrived in Cairns there was an opportunity to go for a hot air balloon ride one morning.  I didn't even have to think about this.  I signed up and paid my money.

We were picked up about 4:30 AM and driven to a cliff where the balloons lift off.  It was pitch black outside, yet there were dozens of people running from balloon to balloon.  There must have been 10 balloons, completely deflated and lying on their sides.  And, it was cold!  We stood around and watched as the balloons slowly began to take shape and came to life.

Once the balloons were ready for flight, we were allowed to "board."  In order to take a flight on a balloon, one must be able to get themselves in and out of the gondola without assistance.  Climbing into that basket required some real gymnastics.  The sun was coming up and the sky was getting lighter every minute and it was still cold!  But, up we went.  What an exciting moment it was.  I was surprised at how quiet everything was once we were about 75-100 feet in the air.  The only sound was the burners sending heat up into the balloon to keep us flying.

As we watched the earth recede, we had a fantastic view of the ocean and the hillsides; the cliff where we had started and the farmland below.  We were even above the marine layer at times on our flight, but it was a beautiful and very ethereal sight and feeling.  We also spotted the chase car under us following along so that we could be picked up when our ride concluded.  There were several balloons up at the same time. 

Once our ride was finished and we were back on solid ground, we each had to climb out of the gondola, again, unaided.  Much easier than getting into the basket.  Then our work began after the thrill and fun of the balloon ride.  Everyone had to work together to deflate the balloon and fold it up, ready to be hauled back to the takeoff site for the next day's rides.  

The final part of our journey was a champagne breakfast served at a local country club.  It was a perfect ending to a perfect ride!