Our story

Born in 1947 and raised in Somerset, UK, Tony was fascinated with the natural world from a very young age. As a five year old at primary school, he would enthusiastically lead the class nature walks in the surrounding countryside. At six years old, he did not have an ambition to be a train driver or cowboy, but wanted to be a warden in the Serengeti when he grew up. In 1970, Tony moved to Kenya and found a job managing game lodges and camps in some of the country’s most wild and beautiful national parks. He met Marijka, a young Canadian adventurer and they together explored East Africa and married. Their first child, Tania, was born at Oloitokitok Hospital at the foot of Mt Kilimanjaro. Their son Ivan was born two years later in UK. They returned to England in 1979 and, in something of a departure, Tony established a business with his father Rick, manufacturing Pascoe’s Complete Dog Food. In 1988, they sold, having built the company into the most successful producer of complete dog food in the UK. At this point, Tony could no longer ignore his yearning for Africa and he set about starting his own small safari company, personally escorting clients on safari to Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Botswana. In 1984 Tony and Colin met by chance in the UK. Colin had previously been flying hot air balloons in Kenya’s Masai Mara and had the ambition to start a balloon safari in the Serengeti National Park. They formed a company, pooled ideas and invested their savings to pioneer the first balloon safari company in Tanzania. Serengeti Balloon Safaris’ first commercial flight was in 1989.

Colin’s early life was coloured vividly by the nature and wildlife of Alaska where he came across bears, moose and even a wild cat in the basement. It wasn't your run of the mill childhood; Colin's father's job as an RAF pilot meant that the buzz and hum of airfields was part of daily life, feeding his young son's restlessness with the promise of far-flung adventures. The airfields were a haven for wildlife so from a young age, nature and flight became dual passions. That said, Colin also dabbled with writing, art and screen-printing as a young man in London in the 1960s, before moving with his wife Sally to the countryside where they bought a 15th century house with a bit of land and started a small-holding. A first flight in a friend’s balloon cemented his trajectory into “lighter than air” aviation and Colin bought his first balloon, which he launched from his garden in Suffolk, England. In 1982 he started “Cirrus, an introduction to balloon flying” which proved popular with guests at a country house, as did the sheepskin jacket that Sally made to keep him warm during chilly flights over the Suffolk plains. In 1981 he had taken a year’s contract to fly in Kenya’s Masai Mara where he got his first peek at Tanzania, and the wilds of Africa stayed with him. He returned to Africa in 1987 where stories of Tanzania from a chance meeting in Zimbabwe, prompted him to fly north to investigate. From his jump-seat next to the pilot, he got a good view of Tanzania and the subsequent meetings with Jimmy Mkwawa and Tony Pascoe crystallised the beginnings of Serengeti Balloon Safaris.

Abeid grew up in Kilimanjaro and has been a balloon pilot since 2007. While guiding guests in the Serengeti one day, he was offered a flight and was immediately hooked. He hassled Tony and Colin every week until they gave him the opportunity to train, which he did in Italy and the USA. He is an exceptional pilot with a deep understanding of local flying conditions based on his years of experience, and he has arguably the best smile in the business. A passionate advocate of ballooning over the Serengeti, he fully expects some of his four children to follow in his wake. He’s had some pretty amazing moments while flying, among which are several successful cheetah and lion hunts and a playful lion cub that tried to chase the balloon.

Mohamed was the very first Tanzanian commercial balloon pilot in the world, recruited by Serengeti Balloon Safaris in 1996 initially as ground crew, and then trained to fly balloons by the company in 2001. He has genuine enthusiasm for balloons and also for his country and while he has in the past hankered to fly elsewhere in the world, he also finds it hard to find any reason to leave the Serengeti. Mohamed will tell you that flying over the migration is something very special and second to that, watching the whole saga of a hunt unravel beneath you is impossible to describe. As a pioneer of ballooning in Tanzania, Mohamed would love one of his four children to follow in his footsteps but it looks as though his son will be a Doctor. Perhaps one of his daughters, then?

Zumo is from the coastal Tanga region but he did his early studies in Arusha. His father was in the aviation industry working for Air Tanzania, however Zumo was drawn to the idea of flying without wings. When he met Abeid, he decided that one day he would learn to fly hot air balloons, which he did in Italy and the USA. He joined Serengeti Balloon Safaris in 2017 and loves the experience of viewing the wildlife from the air, particularly the migration. Zumo is very conscious of the trickier aspects of flying in the Serengeti and Ruaha but knows that an early night, thorough pre-flight preparations and good teamwork all contribute to a successful flight. He loves to fly in his native Tanzania and while it’s too early to tell if there’s another pilot in the family, his little ones are starting to take an interest in his work.

Frank remembers looking down from the basket of a Serengeti Balloon and locking eyes with a leopard reclining in the top of an acacia tree, using the foliage like a bed. It’s one of many memorable moments he’s had in his career as a balloon pilot, and arguably less fragrant than the time he landed in a beautifully soft field in Canada, only to find it had been freshly covered with cow manure. The biggest challenges of a pilot, says Frank, are being able to multi-task, make good and quick decisions and communicate well, and above all, be a morning person! Frank has been a valuable member of our team for almost ten years now, but has flown in many places from Japan to Trinidad and all over the US, Canada and in Germany and the UK. He loves the Serengeti particularly for its wide-open spaces and wildlife.

Jonny has wanted to fly balloons literally since he could just about walk; his first flight was at the age of 2. It helped having a father who flew balloons for a living and so Jonny was able to hop in the basket whenever there was a free space. As soon as he possibly could, he became a private balloon pilot (aged just 17) and went on to become the youngest commercial balloon pilot in the UK at the time, when he was barely out of his teens. Since then, Jonny has flown over Namibia, France, Germany, Switzerland, Ireland and Austria and flies regularly over the ancient temples of Bagan in Myanmar. He says that the sunrises over the Serengeti are pretty hard to beat and the amazing wildlife, spectacular scenery and tranquility keep drawing him back. It can be tough being away from friends and family for such long stretches but Jonny’s girlfriend understands as she’s a balloon pilot too (and has even built her own balloon!).

Guydon has the unenviable responsibility of keeping things running smoothly on the ground, which is a surprising amount considering our safari is largely up in the air. Having been brought up in the balmy seaside town of Dar Es Salaam, he moved up-country and started out working in camps and lodges as Front Office Manager, giving him an ample understanding of what his safari guests are looking for in a professional outfit. He loves meeting people from all over the world and waxing lyrical about his wonderful country. It’s not all banter though, he rises way before the birds to make sure that all guests are collected and the ground-crews are dispatched with everything they need to get the balloons in the air and once they’re safely back down, a magnificent breakfast onto the table.

Silvano comes from the Dodoma region in Central Tanzania and has been with us since 2014. He’s most definitely a “people person” and as such, it is fitting that he should be responsible for the first impression that our passengers have of Serengeti Balloon Safaris. He’s very sensitive to the variety of nationalities, ages and backgrounds of the people that fly with us and conscientiously ensures that they are well briefed and that after their flight we find out how their experience has been. It’s a vital part of ensuring we continue to offer the best possible service and Silvano is just the man for the job. He sees some funny things in the course of his duties, amongst which was a warthog who decided to chase some lions who had been pestering him. Unfortunately that didn’t end well though so we wouldn’t advise anyone else to try it. Silvano likens the SBS team to the highly cooperative and hardworking termites and is a proud member of the colony!