Floating over the Drakensberg ranges in a hot air balloon

Year in year out, over nine million tourists visit South Africa. Of these over two million are outright travelers in quest for adventures mainly for two reasons. Apart from having diverse adventures ranging from culture to wildlife, its experiences are priced soundly.

It is partly due to these two reasons that we were eager to embark on our trip to Kwazulu Natal, one of South Africa's top three adventure provinces—at the start of May. Top on the list of adventurers on our itinerary during a week-long stay was hot air ballooning at the heart of Drakensberg.

Hot Air Ballooning South Africa, was the tour agency with which were to explore the escarpment (Drakensberg) that also hosts UKhahlamba, a renowned world heritage site where Africa's earliest inhabitants, the San or Bushmen, lived.

The take off point was The Nest, a country hotel surrounded by pine forests and commercial farmlands. In total, we were to explore 4-5 kilometers during the hour long flight.

Beholding the sunrise during the ride

 

To reduce risk of accidents brought about by erratic wind speeds to almost zero, we set off very early at 6:00am in the morning when the winds were still calm.

Unlike an airplane flight where the pilot is in total control of the direction the plane takes, the direction of the flight in a hot air balloon depends entirely on the direction in which the wind blows. The only movement the pilot can control is either the ascension or downward movement of the balloon.

There were two balloons to ferry us and 14 travel press from around the continent who had equally come to tick the experience off their bucket lists. One of the balloons had room for eight passengers and the other 10. Both were made of very colourful gores extending from their base to crown.

The envelope was largely made from a combination of nylon or polyester, the same type of material that parachutes are made of. It had been very tightly woven and further coated with a material that makes it extremely air tight and tough. It look a lot of re-assuring to convince us that we were safe in the balloons.

 
The adventure begins

To inflate the envelopes into shape, they were fanned. Thereafter, they were heated with over 10 kgs of helium gas. It was then the weight of the expanding balloon lifted the gondola (basket) into an upright position.

We were told we could leap in for the ride which we were all eager to do but first, we had to adhere a few rules for our own safety before the flight. The instructions as issued by Pluth, our Captain were precise. This made them easy to understand.

"To avoid any accidents, hold on tight to the safety grips and look in the opposite direction when the balloon is landing," he chorused.

Once inside the gondola, anxiety started to take toll on us as more helium was fired from the burners into the envelope to allow it take off. It was so loud and so hot in the start that we had to dark for comfort. 

 

Before we knew it, the balloon was ascending in all its glory all the way to 300 meters off the ground. It felt like we were ascending in an elevator. The only difference was that we were in one controlled by the forces of nature, not electricity. That aside, unlike a lift, the balloon rendered impressive views which stretched from the Amphitheatre in the north right the way down to Giant's Castle in the south.

From above, our team leaders Lebo and Fathima both of whom remained on the ground looked microscopic. Whenever we wanted to get an up-close view of whatsoever was below, the pilot would stop pumping the balloon with gas, allowing it to descend.

The cherry on the cake was beholding the morning sunrise as it awoke to announce the break of beautiful new day. It was so dazzling. It is the kind that makes you feel like honeymoon. It is no wonder many South African honeymooners come for this adventure.

Plenty of postcard pictures abound throughout the one hour flight.

The bonus of the experience was flying up-close to African Hoopoe birds as they made their way to the corn fields below to harvest corn they didn't plan.

Lucky for the owners of the fields, the birds were not a problem as the fields had much more than they could consume. These are typical commercial farms which spread for hundreds of miles. Being a harvest season, most of the farmers were actually in the fields harvesting their produce with tractors.

They were very nice and kept waving at us like we were best friends.

It was not until we were over 400 feet off the ground that we realized how strong the winds were. There is nothing as hard to manipulate as wind. We were generally at the mercy of the winds throughout the flight. While we wanted to go to the Drakensberg mountains, a UNESCO world heritage site found in a distance, the winds drove us in the reverse direction.

Contrary to our expectations, the new destination was not as bad as it looked in a distance. To enable us get a better view of the features below like the scenic rivers, the pilot would stop firing the envelope to allow it cool down. He equally fired it up whenever we wanted to get better panoramic shots.

Thanks to the pilots' patience and ability to time well, the landing was not as a bumpy affair as our colleagues who came later had. It was smooth.

 

We highly recommend not only doing a balloon ride in the Drakensberg area, but also other adventures in Kwazulu Natal. For details, check with South African Tourism.

The farmlands as beheld during the two hours flight