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It was 5:30 throughout the morning. We met our scorching air balloon Masai Mara driver and have been already late. As we stopped to decide on up our captain, he replied “The place’ve you been,we’re going to miss daybreak?
Uh Oh. We did uncover that the clerk who booked our flight crossed out the time to fulfill throughout the lobby and made it a later departure, nonetheless we didn’t assume loads of it.
We thought, “I assume the photo voltaic rises at a definite time proper now of 12 months.” Our driver rushed to the departure degree and there was a flurry of train as quickly as we acquired out of the truck.
We have on a regular basis dreamed of flying over the African savanna and there isn’t any greater place to do it.
Scorching Air Balloon Masai Mara
We preferred our captain, Kim. He was exactly my form of man. Inform it prefer it’s, is conscious of his job successfully, is knowledgeable and gifted and has a unbelievable sense of humour.
He was determined to make it up in time for daybreak and labored arduous to make it happen.
He was yelling orders on the group of 10 males getting ready our balloon, he was working spherical doing loads of the work himself like repositioning the fan, spreading out the balloons parachute like supplies and blowing scorching flames into the balloon.
The Scorching Air Balloon Experience
It was unbelievable to look at and inside a few minutes he was yelling at us to place down throughout the tipped over basket and be prepared to carry on.
As quickly because the balloon was nearly crammed, the flight engineers all jumped in frantically to affix us for a flight over the Masai Mara.
Flying over the Masai Mara isn’t as in model proper now of 12 months because it’s all through the good migration, nonetheless it is nonetheless a spectacular experience.
Since others didn’t book a go to with us proper this second, the native guys who work for the company have been our touring companions.
We felt joyful to know that they get to experience what they put collectively day by day.
Did we make it up in time for Daybreak?
Undoubtedly. Captain Kim made it happen come hell or extreme water.
Scorching Air Balloon Takes Flight
It was gorgeous to me merely how clear a flight in a scorching air balloon is. I didn’t even discover we had left the underside and as I peered over the aspect of the basket, I was shocked to see merely how extreme now we have been throughout the air.
It is the closest feeling you will ever get to strolling on a cloud.
As we floated gently over the Masai Mara, Captain Kim chatted to us about our life and his.
Captain Kim is from Korea however it certainly was proper right here flying extreme over the African Savanna that we realized merely how small the world is. As soon as we suggested him now we have been from Canada he replied that he used to fly scorching air balloons in Canada.
We assumed he would say someplace like Vancouver, nonetheless no, he was based totally in London Ontario. A metropolis near my mom and father dwelling in Woodstock.
He knew my mom and father dwelling metropolis Woodstock successfully as he often manned flights over Kitchener Ontario. Woodstock is lifeless centre between London and Kitchener!
A Native Experience on the Masai Mara
We talked about Tim Hortons and completely different locations that solely small metropolis Western Ontario residents would discover out about and had a grand time taking throughout the environment whereas having enjoyable with a very nice dialog.
Scorching Air Balloon Masai Mara Costs
A flight over the Masai Mara is expensive.
It begins at $450 nonetheless when you’re occurring a safari to Africa, it is a as quickly as in a lifetime experience.
The panorama of the Masai Mara is beautiful. It’s an unlimited open space filled with wildlife.
No Migration nonetheless nonetheless great
The tens of hundreds of thousands of wildebeests and buffalo weren’t working beneath as they’d all through the good migration, nonetheless we did see a birds eye view of Hyena’s looking out, elephants roaming, gazelles and springbocks grazing and vultures flying.
To fly over the bushes and see a vultures subsequent was eye opening. I did not discover merely how lots precise property a vulture takes up in a tree. Their subsequent takes up your total roof of the branches.
We flew all one of the best ways to the Tanzanian border.
The border is marked by a variety of small mountains and we knew that we’d be landing shortly as they approached. Now we have been throughout the air for over an hour and as we started to lose altitude, we braced ourselves for a troublesome landing.
We have heard of many people having bumpy and scary landings so we assumed that we might have the equivalent. As an alternative, we landed simply on the underside with out barely a bump.
Kenya has Optimum Flying Circumstances
Captain Kim is an expert at flying. He suggested us that the winds in Canada are extreme and flying in Africa is a cake stroll after the windy conditions of Western Ontario.
Most pilots cancel flights generally (As what occurred beforehand to us in Spain) nonetheless not him. He finds the little winds of Kenya to nearly on a regular basis be easy to fly and proper this second was no completely completely different. We had clear crusing over the Masai Mara.
Nevertheless wait, our Scorching Air Balloon Experience wasn’t over!
When you book a scorching air balloon expertise over the Masai Mara, a champagne breakfast is included!
We hopped in our safari jeep to drive to a clearing within the midst of the reserve. CAn you think about we’re sitting correct within the midst of the Masai Mara consuming eggs and bacon and sipping champagne?
When Dave wanted to go to the washroom, he was warned to not enterprise too far. You not at all know if a lion or leopard might be lingering spherical.
The local weather was wonderful. The morning photo voltaic beat down warming our chilled bones from the brisk balloon expertise.
Picnic on the Masai Mara
It wasn’t freezing on the balloon by any means, nonetheless there was a bit little bit of a bit throughout the air due to the wind and the early morning flight.
We drank delicious Kenyan espresso, downed a whole bottle of champagne and went once more for seconds of our in a position to order omelets. That’s what decadence is all about.
It actually felt like a dream to have this scorching air balloon journey in Africa.
We have wished to take this flight since watching Africa The Serengeti in 1994.
Whereas our balloon expertise was over the Masai Mara, we did deal with to fly over a extremely small portion of the Serengeti.
Tanzania’s Serengeti is true subsequent door to the Masai mara. They’re linked and the one distinction is the title.
Since we crossed the official Kenyan border and flew for a few minutes in Tanzania, we did fulfill our genuine dream of flying over the Serengeti.
So our scorching air balloon journey had come to an end.
Captain Kim launched us with our flight certificates from the Mara Wildlife Balloons Corporations. We obtained’t have the power to pilot our private scorching air balloon any time shortly, nonetheless we’ve acquired the piece of paper to point out it, we “Enterprise Aloft over the Masaai Mara.
Targets truly do come true.
For additional information on taking your private Scorching Air Balloon Flight Over Kenya, check out Balloon Adventures and within the occasion you go, say hiya to Captain Kim for us. Inform him, Dave and Deb from Woodstock say hiya!
Be taught Additional:
Kenya Safari – The Masai Mara Experience
On Safari in Tanzania – The Closing Wildlife Experience
What to Placed on on Safari
12 Superior Points to do in South Africa