Up Up and Away in a Hot Air Balloon

Tuesday this week, my honey and I took a hot air balloon ride over Melbourne. This is something I’ve wanted to do for the past 20 years or so.

We rose before dawn and met the rest of the passengers and crew and were bused out to our launch site.  The launch site is decided upon based on the weather conditions and direction of the wind.  It was still dark as the balloon was inflated with air before we all leaped into the basket and took off.

We glided through the air at the same speed as the wind (there is very little breeze when you are in a balloon) and watched the sun rise over the Dandenong Ranges and the city of Melbourne buildings reflect the morning light.

We went in convoy with two other balloons and experienced seeing Melbourne landmarks from the birds eye view.  After landing (and helping fold up the balloon, we went back into the city to enjoy a lovely champagne breakfast (it’s a ballooning tradition) at the Hyatt which was a lovely way to end the mornings adventure.

And to answer the question that seems to be on most people’s lips – no it wasn’t scary at all!  The balloon ride is the smoothest air travel around and you just glide through the air.  Our pilot Chris (From Balloons Over Melbourne) was also expert at landing and we touched down smoothly too!