13th August – Thursday
The alarm went off at 4.00 am! Had no trouble getting out of bed and was ready to be picked up at 4.40 am. Today the weather conditions were just right for ballooning!!!
The 21 seater bus which picked me up contained one Australian and 19 Japanese. We headed for Mareeba, running into fog just past Kuranda. Mareeba township was clear of fog when we stopped for a compulsory pit stop (everyone was sent to the toilet), however, the local council had the sprinklers set to come on just as we left the conveniences. Lots of Japanese squeals!
Then it was off to a local farm where the five balloons were already set out and starting to inflate. It was a bit foggy and quite cool here, especially standing around in the dark taking photos. The other Australian and I were moved to another bus before being informed that this busload were on the second flight. (The balloons have two by thirty minute flights.) We watched the first flights take off – three balloons had baskets which held 20 people, the other two balloons had baskets which held 8.
Back on the bus to chase the balloons, so we thought, only to be told we were returning to Mareeba to collect a couple who were helicoptering in from Cairns (obviously weren’t keen on the early start!). Expectations of Mary and Frederick, Charles and Camilla, Nicholle and Keith or Tom and Katy were dashed when a middle aged couple from New Zealand alighted from the helicopter. The pilot hopped on the bus as well, although didn’t fly in the balloon. The mind boggles at the cost of hiring a helicopter for four hours in order to take a 30 minutes balloon flight! We are obviously not one of the “other half.”
Anyway, back out to near where the balloons launched from and we were in time to see our balloon (8 seater basket) descend over a farmhouse, appear to set on the power lines, prune the top of a dead tree (starting to have a few doubts about the pilot by this) and then land on top of a mango tree before settling in the grass between the rows of mango trees.
Passengers were exchanged on a one out, one in basis (to keep the weight even) – we had to climb into the basket using footholes in the end. Then the burners roared and we were up and soaring. What a fantastic experience!!! Parts of the landscape were still covered by fog and the sight was unbelievable, with the sun rising over the hills. (There will probably be some photos of this in the coming days.) We rose to 4000 feet and just floated about, with everyone taking photos non-stop. It really was incredible, especially the silence. The burners were only used occasionally to gain height. The balloon was equipped with an outrigger camera so we could have in-flight photos to purchase!
We drifted towards Mareeba, much to the pilot’s displeasure, as he said he wasn’t keen on all the power lines (not the only one!) and some people didn’t really like balloons landing in their backyards. However, he managed to keep us aloft until we reached an old cane field behind some houses and put us down there – no trees or power lines, thank goodness. The landing was so gentle, not even a bump. We were then pushed back up into the air to move as one of the “big” balloons was coming into the same area. Back down again, then we were informed the basket would be tipped onto its side so the balloon could be deflated before we alighted! No one was really keen on this idea. We had to sit on the floor (not exactly easy to do in a very confined space) and hang on to the grab ropes. (Can you spot me in the photo?) We were then slowly tipped until we were flat on our backs. The bottom layer of people crawled out first, then the top layer (including me) had to get out – not easy as there was no support from the waist up and not a lot of room to manoeuvre. After everyone was out, it was pack up time and most of the passengers (someone had to take photos!!!) helped roll the balloon and put it in the bag. The bag and basket were then placed on the trailer of the support vehicle, we all stood on the side, hanging on tightly, and drove back to the road and our bus.
It was nearly 8.00 am by this and breakfast was sounding very appetising. We were taken to the Heritage Centre for a hot buffet breakfast, complete with a glass of champagne. Whilst Cat chickened out of the balloon flight (he wasn’t allowed, anyway), he certainly wasn’t backward in coming forward for a glass of champers! In-flight photos were printed off to be purchased and it was back on the bus for the return journey to Cairns.
The rest of the day was rather boring!
The alarm went off at 4.00 am! Had no trouble getting out of bed and was ready to be picked up at 4.40 am. Today the weather conditions were just right for ballooning!!!
The 21 seater bus which picked me up contained one Australian and 19 Japanese. We headed for Mareeba, running into fog just past Kuranda. Mareeba township was clear of fog when we stopped for a compulsory pit stop (everyone was sent to the toilet), however, the local council had the sprinklers set to come on just as we left the conveniences. Lots of Japanese squeals!
Then it was off to a local farm where the five balloons were already set out and starting to inflate. It was a bit foggy and quite cool here, especially standing around in the dark taking photos. The other Australian and I were moved to another bus before being informed that this busload were on the second flight. (The balloons have two by thirty minute flights.) We watched the first flights take off – three balloons had baskets which held 20 people, the other two balloons had baskets which held 8.
Back on the bus to chase the balloons, so we thought, only to be told we were returning to Mareeba to collect a couple who were helicoptering in from Cairns (obviously weren’t keen on the early start!). Expectations of Mary and Frederick, Charles and Camilla, Nicholle and Keith or Tom and Katy were dashed when a middle aged couple from New Zealand alighted from the helicopter. The pilot hopped on the bus as well, although didn’t fly in the balloon. The mind boggles at the cost of hiring a helicopter for four hours in order to take a 30 minutes balloon flight! We are obviously not one of the “other half.”
Anyway, back out to near where the balloons launched from and we were in time to see our balloon (8 seater basket) descend over a farmhouse, appear to set on the power lines, prune the top of a dead tree (starting to have a few doubts about the pilot by this) and then land on top of a mango tree before settling in the grass between the rows of mango trees.
Passengers were exchanged on a one out, one in basis (to keep the weight even) – we had to climb into the basket using footholes in the end. Then the burners roared and we were up and soaring. What a fantastic experience!!! Parts of the landscape were still covered by fog and the sight was unbelievable, with the sun rising over the hills. (There will probably be some photos of this in the coming days.) We rose to 4000 feet and just floated about, with everyone taking photos non-stop. It really was incredible, especially the silence. The burners were only used occasionally to gain height. The balloon was equipped with an outrigger camera so we could have in-flight photos to purchase!
We drifted towards Mareeba, much to the pilot’s displeasure, as he said he wasn’t keen on all the power lines (not the only one!) and some people didn’t really like balloons landing in their backyards. However, he managed to keep us aloft until we reached an old cane field behind some houses and put us down there – no trees or power lines, thank goodness. The landing was so gentle, not even a bump. We were then pushed back up into the air to move as one of the “big” balloons was coming into the same area. Back down again, then we were informed the basket would be tipped onto its side so the balloon could be deflated before we alighted! No one was really keen on this idea. We had to sit on the floor (not exactly easy to do in a very confined space) and hang on to the grab ropes. (Can you spot me in the photo?) We were then slowly tipped until we were flat on our backs. The bottom layer of people crawled out first, then the top layer (including me) had to get out – not easy as there was no support from the waist up and not a lot of room to manoeuvre. After everyone was out, it was pack up time and most of the passengers (someone had to take photos!!!) helped roll the balloon and put it in the bag. The bag and basket were then placed on the trailer of the support vehicle, we all stood on the side, hanging on tightly, and drove back to the road and our bus.
It was nearly 8.00 am by this and breakfast was sounding very appetising. We were taken to the Heritage Centre for a hot buffet breakfast, complete with a glass of champagne. Whilst Cat chickened out of the balloon flight (he wasn’t allowed, anyway), he certainly wasn’t backward in coming forward for a glass of champers! In-flight photos were printed off to be purchased and it was back on the bus for the return journey to Cairns.
The rest of the day was rather boring!
4 comments:
Wow, sounds like fun! The photos are rather speccy too.
About time you DID IT!
Jack says, "Nanny went on a balloon ride! Nanny stood in a basket!"
Soooooo jealous!
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