Towards the horizon the night gives way to a new day on your Kenya safari and it has started in a very extraordinary way – you’re in a hot air balloon drifting silently high above the rolling grasslands and the savannah is stretching as far as you can see all the way around you.
With the wind ruffling your hair and the sun rising in an explosion of colours you watch a huge herd of wildebeest running below you. Time is standing still as you commit this sight to memory and your camera clicks away softly.
This is probably one of the best ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ experiences one can have and you will wish yourself up in the air again as soon as you have touched down for your champagne breakfast.
Balloon safaris are a romantic and evocative way of experiencing the wilderness of Kenya’s most precious jewel, the Masai Mara. They are ideally suited to the open, treeless, plains of the Mara as they allow many of the animals to be seen from the air and, viewed from an altitude of several thousand feet, the scenery stretching to the horizon around you is breathtaking.
Click here if you would like to know more about the specifics and safety of hot air ballooning or read on to see...
...WHAT HAPPENS ON THE DAY?
Ca 5:15 am: After an invigorating cup of hot Kenyan tea or coffee (place order at reception the night before) you are picked up from your lodge or camp for your en-route game drive to the launch site.
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By 6:00 am you’ve arrived at the launch site, ready for your ‘mission’ today. As the pilot explains the mechanics and gives you a briefing about your ride you watch as the coloured fabric of the balloon is torched to life and, while inflating, grows bigger and bigger.
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At the crack of dawn you take off, gradually rising higher and higher together with the sun, floating in whichever direction the winds of the morning takes you and the balloon.
Your pilot can precisely control the altitude of the hot air balloon so if you want to ascend higher to see the enormity and wonderful panorama of the Masai Mara he adds hot air to the balloon with powerful whisper burners- probably the only noise apart from the wind in your hair that you will hear in those lofty heights.
At other times he deflates the balloon to descend silently to tree-top level to offer you unique perspectives and great photographic opportunities of the wildlife below: wildebeest moving in huge herds across the plains, the beauty of the landscape when the rising sun's bright orange colours ignite the ground below to life, the elephants at the waterhole, and the gazelles and zebras scampering in all directions… |
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By 7:15 am touch down time is approaching. But although your time in the air is almost up, the experience has not yet ended for now it is bush-breakfast time! Once back on terra firma, the flight is celebrated with a glass of champagne (well, a very good sparkling wine) before sitting down to a full English breakfast prepared and served in the bush in 'Out of Africa' style with china, linen table cloths, King's silver etc - a fitting finale to your memorable flight in the wild! And to top it all off, you receive your Balloon certificate as a special memoir of their flight and proof that you really did it! |
After breakfast another game drive en-route to your lodge or camp ends a very special morning.
By around 9:30 am you’re back but your mind is still in that hot air balloon, scanning the horizon, watching the game herds below.
take off to lofty adventures from:
AT A GLANCE
| Take-off: |
ca 6:05 a.m., in time for sunrise |
| Duration: |
approx. one hour depending on weather conditions |
| Capacity: |
10 – 14 people in one balloon depending on basket size |
| Included: |
Transport from and to your lodge/camp to the launch site, en-route game drive, services of an experienced guide, Champagne breakfast, Balloon Safari Certificate |
| Prices: |
From USD425/EUR320/GBP220 per person; prices depend on which camp or lodge you will be staying at as transfer distances to/from launch sites vary. |
| Pilots: |
All pilots are commercially trained and rated on hot air balloons and have over 1000 hours of flying experience. We only use companies with perfect safety records. |
Please note:
If you want to experience the awesome feeling of ballooning the Masai Mara please make sure you book your place early to avoid disappointment as balloon safaris have limited availability and, especially in high season, tend to be booked out. Send us an email to find out more about availability and prices.
Click here if you would like to know more about the specifics and safety of hot air ballooning.
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Balloon Safaris 
Fig Tree Camp