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Published: September 11th 2023
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Up at 4:00 am and away at 4:45 on the usual bumpy roads for an hour and a quarter. Despite some lingering apprehension, I was committed to the hot air balloon ride.
As we arrived at the
Miracle Experience balloon site, the sky was deep pink, lightening to shades of blue. When the thirty-two customers and seemingly as many staff had gathered, we were introduced to our enthusiastic pilot, Rosa. (She was pleased to meet me, because she worked in Calgary for a year.) Her colleague, pilot for the other balloon, gave us a safety briefing – repeated in more detail beside the balloons.
Initially the balloon was inflated by huge blowers. Our strange entry into the basket was required by the design: it was rectangular, on its side. Four compartments held four people each, plus a central compartment for the pilot and the gear. As instructed, I shuffled myself awkwardly into first place on the top “shelf”, lying on my back with my feet up on a cushioned riser and my backpack secured between my feet. Staff checked that each person was in place and clipped a wide tether to a waist harness. As Rosa shot flame-heated air into
The other balloon
We looked the same. the balloon, we began to drift along the ground, linked to a truck that steadied the basket. As the balloon began to lift and we were tipped into an almost standing position, Rosa unlinked the rope, and we were sailing free. She told us to completely stand up. The Serengeti was spread beneath us!
Serengeti means “endless plain” in Swahili. Eons ago, volcanic eruptions and collapse in Ngorongoro spread a vast amount of material in what is now the Serengeti. The resultant soil is fertile and can support millions of animals. Soon we saw great herds of wildebeest and zebra trailing across the earth below us. Having seen the herds from our truck view, seeing them from the air spread out below was breath-taking. The trees with long dawn shadows made patterns across the flat landscape. Green vegetation marked the meandering paths of a river. Roads criss-crossed the land, far out-numbered by animal trails.
Hippos leave deep marks as they trudge through the night feeding, and now at dawn they were gathering in their favourite pools. Not too far below, a kopje thrust out of the landscape, possibly sheltering animals invisible at our height. Sharp-eyed people caught sight
of lions moving along – sand-coloured hyphens on a pale brown background. Four walking together could have been the family we saw yesterday. Three others moved in a different direction. Hyenas were barely visible, noticeable only by movement. Gazelles and impalas leaped across the grasses, skittishly in survival mode. A pair of vultures sat in a tree and then soared away as the noise of the balloon fire reached them. Mostly we sailed silently, contemplating of one of the earth’s marvels.
Carefully placed down on earth again, we clambered out of the up-right basket, with lots of help from staff members. Rosa told a long tale of why we are offered champagne upon landing - a happy celebration! Trucks drove us about half an hour to a “bush breakfast”, which featured fruit, eggs any style, back bacon, delicious sausage, baked beans, African donut (slightly sweet puffed dough), croissant-style buns, Rota (cashew butter with chocolate, no sugar), coffee and tea. Ever required, a “Loo with a View” was a tented cubicle with flush toilets, facing a screened view of the landscape. Finally, we were given a high-quality certificate for surviving our flight, which struck me more as a high-quality advertisement.
Loo with a View
Insert showing the view Nevertheless, everything was at a standard that justified the high price. Before departing, I perused the table of crafts and souvenirs for sale, I chose six beaded coasters that will daily remind me of my adventures.
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Isabel Gibson
non-member comment
Boy, that 4AM start would hurt! Good for you for going for it. At our age, it's too easy to be prudent and/or unadventurous. I didn't know the meaning of Serengeti, and it sure looks endless in your photos. I would have missed your shadow if you hadn't pointed it out. I particularly like the photo of the hippo pond. So blue against the countryside.