On our 16th and final day full day in New Zealand, we woke up early and were picked up from the hotel by Up Up and Away. We drove out into the countryside and started setting up in the dark.
We unloaded the basket, unfurled the massive balloon and turned on the fans to push air inside the balloon. H was in charge of watching the fan- tough stuff!
As the sky began to lighten with the early morning dawn, they they started turning on the burners to warm the air up.
The burners are wicked powerful. It was neat to see inside the balloon into such a massive object and know you are flying through the air at hundreds of feet at the mercy of some air that is slightly heated and nothing more substantial.
We quietly and quickly rose above the gently rolling hills as the clouds hung low on the foothills.
There was lots of sheep viewing on our trip over the farmlands.
There were actually 2 balloons together & each balloon had about 16 guests plus the driver.
There are 4 people packed into each corner and the pilot has the center section.
It was a wee bit chilly up there in the morning, but not too unbearable.
It was very cloudy & I even thought they might cancel the excursion. We had to wake up around 4AM to call and check on the weather, but we flew in the less than ideal weather.
Going up and riding around takes up about 1/3 to 1/2 the time and the rest is all spent trying to land the balloon. As you drop down, the wind patterns change and you obviously can’t land in certain pastures. Apparently horses are quite freaked out by the balloons, but the cows are more curious.
Our tight quarters. We had a pilot & a pilot-in-training, which made the ride a little less enjoyable. The pilot was constantly muttering and correcting the PIT, chiding him and questioning him about what he was doing.
We finally landed in a sheep field (where else!?!?) and I’m sure the balloon got lots of sheep poo on it. However, the group worked together to pack it all up & put it away on the trailer.
Only then was it time for our celebratory sip of champagne- a great way to start the rest of the day.
GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: I’m the proud new owner of a (finally assembled) treadmill. I swear I’m not going to be like the 99% of owners who never use it…
