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The glorious hot air balloon ride over Mt Kilimanjaro
Arrival at Amboseli National Park. PHOTO | POOL
What you need to know:
Location: Amboseli National Park
Driving time: 4 hours
How we got there: Isuzu MU-X, a seven seater family car, or the 14 seater locally assembled and designed game viewer, tailor made for safaris.
Balloon ride cost: Sh45,000 per person including a champagne breakfast
We leave Oltukai Lodge at 5:00am and drive to the offices of Kilimanjaro Balloon Safaris. First I sign an indemnity form then head to the tea and coffee station and pour myself a cuppa while waiting for everyone to finish signing up. Afterwards we walk with the captain, Daniel Beckwith, to the site where a deflated balloon is slowly being filled with hot air. He gives us a safety briefing and introduces the rest of his team: at least five of them are all called Daniel! We watch them inflate the balloon, and as it fills up, it lifts from the ground into an upright position. The balloon's lift comes from hot air which is slightly lighter than the surrounding cold atmosphere.
Balloon being filled with hot air. PHOTO | POOL
We then hop on the basket...there are six of us; three on either side with the pilot in the middle, the minimum number it takes to balance. At sea level, this type of balloon apparently has a lift capacity of up to 2,000 kilograms, but commercially they have only a maximum of 12 passengers and the pilot. Captain Beckwith has been flying hot air balloons for over 20 years. The hotter the balloon gets, the faster it rises, and so like a bird flying higher into the sky, everything gets smaller as we ascend until pretty soon we are just calmly floating about mid-air.
With the pilot having explained that the balloon goes where the wind takes it, I expected it to be very windy, which wasn’t the case. Even if you’re afraid of heights or flying, it’s a very pleasant and calm experience. We watch the sun coming up over the horizon, almost at eye level, as it washes over the greenery of the park in soft red and orange hues. Kilimanjaro’s snow-capped is prominent in all its glory, and it is harder imagining a clearer or more breathtaking view of Africa’s highest mountain. The mountain may be in Tanzania, but we certainly get the best sighting of it in Kenya.
Captain Daniel Beckwith mid-flight on the hot air balloon. PHOTO | POOL
As the balloon cools it slowly descends, and as the pilot can control the height, we go so low that we’re almost brushing over some trees, and in the shadow of the balloon, spot a large dazzle of zebras grazing in the park.
Zebras spotted grazing in the park from the hot air balloon.
After about 50 minutes, the pilot lands the balloon. We had actually practiced the correct posture for landing during the safety briefing at the beginning, and this is the part of the flight I had been most anxious about, especially when the pilot explained that sometimes the balloon hops a few times and can even tip over so you land on your side. Thankfully, it is very smooth, and we land upright. Shortly after the crew comes to hold it into position while others pull the envelope with ropes as it slowly deflates.
When the flight is done, we hop on the Isuzu MU-X for a leisurely ride to the breakfast spot. On the way we spot a tower of giraffes browsing in the backdrop of the Kilimanjaro and spot some cheetahs prowling through tall grass.
The breakfast spread is lavish, kicking off with a bottle of champagne followed by fresh fruits and blueberry muffins. Then there’s a hot breakfast with whatever you fancy, and I get scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages and the works. Captain Beckwith uses a sword to open a second champagne bottle, neatly slicing off the glass at the neck “the way they do it in Namibia,” as he explains. Afterwards we even get certificates to commemorate our flight. It is around 10am by the time we get back to the lodge, but I am buzzed from exhilaration and merry from the bubbly.
Champagne breakfast set up after the flight PHOTO | POOL
At around lunchtime that very day, I hear a knock on the door of my room, and when I open the door, I find a baboon looking up at me. Apparently, the baboons here have learned to knock on doors by imitating guests. After getting over the initial shock, I actually find it quite funny.
