Your Experience
From your camp to the balloon
0400 – 0515hrs
Some things are worth getting up early for and this is certainly one of them. Rising before the birds and heading out in the silence of the pre-dawn towards the launch-site is all part of the anticipation. Perhaps one of the Serengeti’s more elusive inhabitants will be caught in the headlights on this nocturnal game drive.
Keeping safe & preparing to fly
0615 - 0645hrs
Your pilot takes you through the important safety briefing ahead of your flight as the sky begins to lighten and the crew inflates the balloon - an envelope of savannah gold and acacia green billowing into the cool morning, lit by the flames of the burners. You climb into the basket and prepare to lift into the dawn.
Serengeti from the sky
0645 – 0815hrs
Each flight is a different journey dictated by the direction of the wind, where the sights and sounds rise from the ground to meet you. We know where we’ve started but we don’t know where we will return to earth. This is part of the adventure. Sometimes the basket will be gently brushing the tips of the grass and then climbing, climbing through the layers of air until you’re high enough to see the curve of the horizon, painted gold and pink by the early sun. Our pilots not only have years of experience in harnessing the African wind, but are also interpreters of the wild lives in the ebb and flow of the landscape below. Around an hour or so after you lift into the sky, the basket will return to the plains of the Serengeti. But it’s not over yet.
Celebrating a tradition
0815 – 0830hrs
“The Winds have welcomed you with softness. The Sun has blessed you with its warm hands….” The balloonist’s tradition is to toast the flight with bubbly. A short walk or drive from your landing spot will find you raising a glass to your time in the skies. We then seek to take care of earthly concerns and whisk you off by safari car to our special Serengeti breakfast spot.
Meeting hunger with plenty
0830 – 0930hrs
There is truly nothing to compare with breakfast served under the sweeping canopy of an acacia in the middle of the Serengeti plains. Tropical fruit, bread baked this morning and eggs cooked in the bush (or a lovely avocado option), all made more delicious by the location, and served on linen, bone china and Sheffield cutlery in an 'Out of Africa' style. Shoulder to shoulder with your fellow passengers, this is a time to soak in the exceptional flight you’ve just been a part of and absorb the moment.