Going up in a hot-air balloon has been on my bucket list all of my life. So when the opportunity presented itself on our trip to Kenya, I jumped at the chance. What better place to fly then over the Masai Mara?
We had a 3:45 a.m. wakeup call and were driven to the field where the balloons would launch just before sunrise. Hot coffee and some snacks were waiting for us when we arrived.
After checking in we were given our balloon assignments and our pilot went through all of the procedures. Â These were big balloons that carried 12 passengers and the pilot.
It was a wonderful experience.
Through My Lens 
It’s something I’d like to do . . . if the engineer in me didn’t worry about safety.
How long was the flight? Also, is it wise to drink coffee before flying in a tub without bathrooms? Just something I wonder about because I saw balloon launches before and some would last upwards of 3-4 hours. I would probably curtail my fluid intakes before such a flight.
It was about an hour flight. There were no wires or anything to run into and these were very experienced pilots. Most were from Canada – not that that means anything. I never felt unsafe.
An hour? I could drink all the coffee I wanted.
I’m actually more concerned with equipment failure because I assume the pilots aren’t suicidal and also want to experience a safe flight. As I said, it looks neat and worth doing, but I say the same about helicopters and I’ve never booked a flight on one of those either.
However, I have to admit the photos from the air are always stunning.
You were very lucky to have the experience in such a climate. Having booked onto a balloon flight in 2015, it was 2017 before the weather conditions were right on the dates we were reserving almost monthly in England. But the wait was really worth it for the magical time we had, as we rose up though the dispersing mist and saw for miles around the upper Thames.
What a treat.
Wow!!! You did and saw it all on this fantastic trip!