Tuesday 5 August 2014

My Hot Air Balloon experience

I had originally wanted to do something crazy like skydive.  Skydiving was definitely on my bucket list when I was 18.  Since then I have become a decade older and committed to marry a Risk Manager so I swapped skydiving for hot air ballooning.

My cousins gave us a Red Balloon voucher when we got engaged and there was no hesitation to book us into a Hot Air Balloon experience.  We took advantage of the Bank Holiday to spend Sunday night up in the Hunter.



Sunday was spent wine tasting and eating cheese.  And eat cheese I did.  Lots of it.  So much so that now on Tuesday I am still feeling sick and bloated from eating too much cheese on Sunday afternoon.  That's what happens when lactose intolerant people consume too much lactose.  Need to get myself to a pharmacy to get some lactase.  Anyway I digress.....

Yoshi, our pilot, inside the baloon!

So cold it mandated a beanie

Fire!

Monday was a 5am alarm and a 5:45am start.  We met at Petersons Winery to check in and drove to the field where we took off.  The balloon took 4 men and a huge-ass fire about 45 minutes to set up.  We jumped into the basket and we were off!



There was another company flying at the same time as us so I was lucky enough to get photos of their balloon.  It's breath-taking being up that high in the sky and being able to see clearly 360 degrees around you (unlike being in a plane).  Feeling the wind brush past your face, looking down to see the white 4WD that drove you in get smaller and smaller and then vanish completely.



As the sun rose it started to get a tad warmer and the shadows it made were amazing.

Our balloon's shadow with a mini rainbow surrounding us


It was actually really interesting seeing how the pilot navigated our way through.  Hot air balloons are truly at the mercy of the wind; all the pilot can control is how up or down we go but sideways movements are dictated by the wind.


It actually took us an extra 20 minutes to land because only certain open fields are available for landing (they are all private properties so permission needs to be sought from the owner).


We eventually landed, packed up the balloon and headed for Petersons Winery where we indulged in a champagne before/with breakfast.


A few quick wine tastings before we jumped back in the car and headed back to Sydney!

16 comments:

  1. How awesome!!! I really want to go hot air ballooning, it looks like such an amazing experience :) xx

    ReplyDelete
  2. WOW ! What an amazing experience! I think I need to add this to my bucket list too! So glad you had a great morning!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Definitely look into it, worth doing if you can :)

      Delete
  3. Oh, looks like soo much fun!
    Would love to go hot air ballooning, and have seen it being advertised when driving around the Hunter (we live close by) - but my other half is really scared of heights! :(

    As a random aside...you have such lovely glow-y skin! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh honestly, I am afraid of heights and I just didn't get any sort of panic when I got up there. It was truly just beautiful.

      Haha my glowy skin is thanks to my camera!! Defs not like that in real life ;)

      Delete
  4. This looks so great - what an awesome experience! I love the photos.
    This is definitely going on my bucket list!
    xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's a very special experience, you and J should defs do it!!

      Kx.

      Delete
  5. Looks amazing, I was voyeuring like ooohhhhh how awesome.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Awesome! Beautiful photos.
    We did it in turkey and it was one of the best things I've ever done. I want to surprise my husb when we're in byron this year.

    How good are bank holidays?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I would defs do it again in another city if I have the opportunity.

      Bank holidays are the bomb.com

      Delete
  7. Looks amazing.. Those views!
    I'd always freak out thinking the basket is going to break.. (I'm weird I know lol!)
    xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh gosh Hol don't even think about the basket!! They fly every single day :)

      Delete
  8. !! one of the best experiences of my life! (did it in turkey about a month ago) incredible photos kay! and i'm sure the cheese was worth every bite ;)

    reckless abandon

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. YOUR turkey photos are so much more amazing than mine. I really want to do this in Turkey now due to your photos :)

      The cheese was so worth it. I recovered yesterday and had some last night and again tonight. YUM.

      Delete

Thanks for taking the time to leave me a comment :)