Serengeti Hot Air Balloons

Serengeti Hot Air Balloons /Hot air balloon in Serengeti national park are an amazing way of exploring the great plains of Serengeti and its wildlife species which gives you a spectacular aerial view. The success of the Serengeti hot air balloons was made possible with a helping hand from an experienced hot air balloon pilot from Kenya, whose all-day dreams were flying the air balloons across the skies of the great Serengeti national park. Their team-work made the first balloon to take up the clear skies covering the vast plains of the Serengeti national park. Two years after the first balloon flight across the skies of the Serengeti, we had another surprise. It was then when the first sixteen-passenger balloon was firstly set into the clear skies of the plain, not to mention that this was the largest commercial balloon in the world by then.

In order to qualify for flying with the Serengeti hot air balloons, you need to be 7 years and above. It is true that no matter how old you are, you can still go for ballooning on the great Serengeti provided that you free from mobility problems or extreme health conditions such as brittle bones alongside with a defective back or neck, and critical health conditions like heart attacks. Passengers should just have flexible knee locomotion and possess the ability to hold the ropes tight during take-off and landing of the balloon, which goes perpendicularly with having the ability to get into and out the basket associated with this balloon. However, pregnant ladies are never expected to go for ballooning and which is also not very common finding them going for any similar adventurous safaris.

The weather condition in the Serengeti national park has been a great blessing for all who are disparately in love with ballooning, as it favors the balloon safari almost every single day of the year. This is an added advantage over hot air balloon flights in other places which are highly favored on the course of the main season, usually from June through October. You can wonder what ballooning on rainy seasons may feel like. It’s only on the Serengeti plains where on the course of March through April when we have long rains which are famously known as the green seasons, and the short seasons between November and mid-December where ballooning is still possible in the morning due to the fact that it usually rains afternoon and late evening leaving a room for adventurous balloon safari in the morning. These early morning balloon safaris with gentle winds over an evergreen, lush and dustless exploration are the most remarkable part of safaris in Serengeti. This is highly advantageous over on-road touring as you will be liable to fight the mud and be ready to get stuck into it, something which a ballooner is free from. Due to having cool weather in the morning which eventually transits to warmer weather later, it is highly advised that a removable sweater or jacket shall work better for you. If you are follically challenged with the radiant heat from the burner in the gondola, then the only option is carrying a hat in the flight.

Before saying a word about the cost of a single Serengeti balloon safari, allow me to brief you about the cost of purchasing a single hot air balloon plus its general operational cost per trip. A single balloon may cost up to USD 100,000, and once in use, it is allowed to go only for 850 hours of operation before retiring in order to ensure maximum safety and optimum working conditions. Moreover, every single safari involves a reasonable number of crewmen (preferably greater than six). Over and above this fantastic number of crewmen, almost ten more well-trained workers are behind the scene for each flight. It is not over yet until you let me mention the fuel consumption on the course of the ballooning and the most shocking fact is that the balloon should be left with at least 50% of the fuel upon landing which is a legislative law imposed for all hot air balloons to ensure maximum safety of the users. All these factors make a single balloon safari over the Serengeti planes cost from US $590 onwards, depending on the on dot factors of that specific safari.

The word “hot” in the hot air balloons is so far a mystery that is still unveiled for multitudes. To revile it we should take a glance through its mode of operation. A hot air balloon is a less dense aircraft comprising of an envelope and a wicker basket for carrying people for the flight, technically known as gondola which also carries a heat source with it. The envelope contains a hot air (to lower the density) which is heated by an open flame heat source on the gondola, and hence the name hot air balloon. The Serengeti safari begins with a set off to the balloons early before dawn to witness wildlife waking up with the flavor of the beautiful sunrise. And thereafter comes the pilot, who will demonstrate all the required information about ballooning, stressing on the part of take-off and landing which are the most technical parts of the safari. The take-off is usually as early as 6 am (depends on the weather conditions and nature of wind blow) which is usually after a pre-flight coffee/tea with several bites to energize the one-hour flight which unravels your miraculous experience. Onboard, you can be up to sixteen of you, including the crewmen. Serengeti hot air balloon safari is way more than just an ordinary breath-taking experience which may be the highlight of all your safari, and having a post-safari tea in the middle of nowhere like the African lynx in the midst of the Serengeti plain will give you a million and one reasons to immediately plan for the next Serengeti hot air balloon safari.

If I am to suggest the most adventurous safari you can ever have in Tanzania, then it is obvious that a flight on the plains of the great Serengeti national park while on the hot air balloons will outnumber the rest probably even hiking the greatest heights in Africa i.e. Mt. Kilimanjaro. And in addition to that, kindly reserve my appreciation after the flight as I am sure you will never regret having one. I have a testimony of a friend who was highly scared of heights but everything went the other way round just after a single air balloon safari across the Serengeti plains. He was more than overwhelmed after having it, and very pleased for the safari as all his worries were unfounded. It is your turn now to have one of the most adventurous safaris in Africa and specifically the vast plains of Serengeti national parks.