Reviews for Outback Ballooning Adventure

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Our adventure began well before a chilly November dawn as we dressed in layers of clothing, sturdy shoes, and a pair of gloves for our sunrise hot air balloon adventure. Our pilot, Frans, and one-man crew, Kim, met us at our hotel at 4:00 a.m., entertained us as we picked up fellow passengers and drove south to the launch site in the MacDonnell Ranges. Changing to seriousness, Frans explained what to expect and cautioned that if the weather conditions were not right, we would not take flight. Meeting up with two other vans of balloonists, we watched with baited anticipation as the guides tested the wind. We chatted excitedly with our 10 fellow passengers as the balloons were prepared for boarding. We were apprehensive about how to actually get into the waist high basket on our own and not falling overboard during flight. No worries – everything was apples. The launch was smooth and exhilarating. The flight was an incredible 30 minutes with Frans’ skillful piloting and witty commentary on the varied countryside below, as well as some fantastic photo opportunities: the sunrise over the horizon, the other two balloons, kangaroos hopping through the brush and across the scorched Outback, the Ghan railway, and a power plant. The landing was a series of little bumps and collective exclamations indicative of our pleasure as well as disappointment that the flight had ended. Each of us was given an assignment in the process of deflating, folding, and packing up the balloon – that’s why we had brought our gloves! Kim drove us to a campground where we sat in a semi-circle and were served a champagne breakfast that included mimosas, quiche, fruits, cheeses, meats, and croissants, with sparkling wine between each course. Decadent chocolate cake, tea and coffee were the perfect ending to an amazing morning. We received our certificates of completion and bought the group photo as a memento of another dream fulfilled.

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