Durban - For those who haven’t tried hot air ballooning yet, it’s a blast. Yes, some of the blast is the gas jetting into the balloon to control altitude but mainly it is a wonderful way to see the bigger picture, so to say, even if it’s only for an hour.
Once the crack-of-dawn preparations are over and you lift off, it’s unlike any sensation I can think of, as the balloon ascends in a smooth motion and drifts high over the ground.
People with a fear of heights quickly forget their anxiety and while there might be some lack of control over variables such as the weather, it is statistically the safest form of aviation, if not transport, with the last and only fatality in South Africa in 1898.
Landing can be slightly bumpy and the basket can drag along the ground, but they are sturdily built and can carry up to eight people. Even though I was on a maiden flight – and on an untested route – there was never any fear of something going horribly wrong.
But the team from Hot Air Ballooning SA know their stuff. Warwick Cook and co-owner Marc Nuthall have represented South Africa in World Ballooning Championships, the only company in South Africa that can boast this achievement.
Passionate about ballooning, they’ve been at it commercially for 10 years and, though Joburg-based, offer the experience in six provinces.
In KZN they fly from Tala, Zulu Waters, Antbear, Hartford House and Champagne Valley in the Drakensberg. We took off from Nambiti Private Reserve.
“We can fly all year round in the Berg,” says Warwick, “So we plan to base balloons in KZN”.
Some of the best ballooning conditions in the world and flying close to the mountains make the trip here more special.
At Monk’s Cowl, you can enjoy unforgettable views from the balloon and pass every tee on their new nine-hole, 18-tee golf course.
Even though ballooning isn’t cheap, at R2 400 each, the experience will stick with you.
“The world looks far better up there. It’s what makes me want to get back in the basket, not the wife driving me there,” says Cook.
His is no cushy life, though his sons Vincent and Paul Mulder do most of the grunt work. They live an itinerant life, going where the wind and bookings take them, sometimes at the drop of a hat. And therein lies the appeal.
Hot air ballooning is about an intriguing blend of personal challenge, adventure, romance, the unknown, of getting closer to the elements while experiencing mankind’s oldest form of aviation, carried away on a gentle breeze, in the company of the rising sun, suspended and animated, beneath a colourful canopy of hot air.
“For us, every flight is more of an occasion than just a balloon trip. More often than not someone is celebrating a birthday or an anniversary. For many, it’s a dream come true; so we say welcome to dreamland.
“If the surreal has a place in life’s list of experiences, perhaps hot air ballooning best provides it,” says Cook.
You need to be able to get in and out of a 1.2m-high basket (with foot-holes), stand for an hour and be tall enough to see out – and you need to be aware that it is weather-dependent.
If You Go...
l Call 011 802 4318 and check out www.hotairballooningsa.co.za or www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/pages/Hot-Air-Ballooning-South-Africa/49677278468
l Contact Monk’s Cowl to fill your boots with added exhilaration such as abseiling, kloofing or canyoning, white water kayaking, tubing or “geckoing” – you’ll have plenty to talk about and some spectacular yarns to spin over drinks or a laid-back lunch or dinner at the Monk’s Cowl Country Club Restaurant & Pub. Call Gooderson Leisure on 031 368 5353 or visit www.goodersonleisure.co.za
Sunday Tribune