Masai Mara hot balloon ride - a ride to remember.

This photograph was taken from the hot air Balloon, a week before we took our ride. Obviously the riders of that day were delighted with this sight. Picture was provided to us by our pilot.

A day before I went on this ride, I got up very early to photograph the view from outside my tent. As soon as I stepped out I could see this huge balloon right on my face.

Soon enough I could see reflection of another Balloon in the river next to the camp. This river had several crocodiles but fortunately the riders of Balloon were safe !

My visit to Masai Mara was in August 2012. I had traveled to Kenya with the sole purpose of witnessing the great migration. It had been an exhilarating trip which included driving through tough terrain, coming across amazing wildlife and of course the breathtaking river crossing by wildebeest. Spending hours with pride of Lions is now a distant but an unforgettable memory. Much of it was captured in an earlier blog and photo feature http://rohin-arora.blogspot.in/2012/09/masai-mara-blog-and-photo-feature.html.

The decision to take a hot air balloon ride was not an easy one. The cost was prohibitive. $ 550.00 is hell of a lot of money for a 2 hour ride notwithstanding the champagne breakfast they promised after the ride. My cousin Tushita and I finally took the plunge and booked our ride. We got up at 3.30 AM in pitch darkness ( there is no electricity in Jungle camps) and were picked by Balloon operators at 4.15 AM for a cup of coffee, a lecture on Balloon preparation and the actual ride. I remember the ride very well as the Balloon would soar above the wilderness and then the pilot would maneuver it in a way that we would come very close to the ground where the animals were spread out.

The sound of fire blowing in the Balloon would excite the wildebeest and they would just start running ..........................and we would once again be touching the sky. Here are some photographs of that ride.

Up, up and Away

It was fascinating to see the preparations before the Balloons took off. There were several companies in the forest and each had around 10 Balloons. So hundreds of Balloons would get airborne at almost the same time.

It's a bit scary with so much fire as preparations get in full swing to take the Balloon airborne.

Thankfully we had a skilled pilot. Didn't want to be landing in the middle of a Lion pride.

View from the Top

The sun was just coming out as we got airborne. It all looked very lovely and the air was cool and crisp.

Some pictures from the top

In August it is the migration season so Wildebeest are all over the park.

The pilot keeps the fire going on the Balloon so it could keep flying. This blowing of fire makes a lot of sound and Wildebeest keep getting scared with that and keep running.

Zebras give a great contrast to the barren looking surface.

These tuskers can be dangerous if you are near them.

All Balloons drift away as the wind takes them in a particular direction.

What you see on the ground are all animals,. Mainly Wildebeest, Zebras and Giraffe.

The Maara river separates Tanzania from Kenya. The biggest spectacle of migration takes place here as the animals cross this river and are attacked by crocodiles and Lions.

Our Balloon was full of Chinese tourists so that chatter was in Chinese. Thankfully our pilot was an Aussie.

The Landing

The Balloon landed in the middle of Jungle. 90 minutes drive from our camp. It could have drifted in any direction due to the wind so the trucks carrying breakfast and support staff had to keep a lookout on the direction we were going. We could see wildlife around. when we landed. There could very well be big cats lurking around.