Hot Air Balloon Safari over the African Plains

To take a hot air balloon flight across the Serengeti plains is
an unforgettable experience. To see the vastness of the African
plains with the herds of animals below is to see Africa from a
unique perspective. 

The balloon flights leave in the early morning from the Serona
Valley in the central Serengeti. This part of the Serengeti has
good concentrations of animals year round; ensuring whenever you
take your flight there will be plenty to see. It is expensive
but if you have come this far a few more dollars is worth the
experience of seeing this land from the air. 

You will have to spend the nigh in a lodge in the Serona area of
the Serengeti as departure from you hotel is 5 am! This will
probably the only time you will leave your lodge before
daylight. Night drives are not allowed within the National Park
boundaries. 

Your balloon ride, or flight, will launch ever so gently from
the Maasia Kopjes. You rise slowly from the plains at first
light, rising above the trees with the dawn. At times the
balloon will rise to one kilometer or more above the plains, at
other times you will skim over the flat toped acacia trees. The
silence of the flight has to be experienced - and is only
interrupted by the occasional noises from bush and an infrequent
blast of the burners as they put more warm air into the balloon. 

The flight is about an hour long and upon landing there is a
champagne celebration and breakfast in the bush of the
Serengeti. The breakfast is Full English served at tables with
linen table clothes, sliver cutlery in true 'Out of Africa
style. A memento of your flight in the form of a certificate is
presented after breakfast and then you return to your lodge
before 10h00; this enables you to carry on with your personal
itinerary. 

This balloon safari is very popular and is best booked in
advance. However, if you decide to add it into your schedule at
the last minute you are able to book it from your Central
Serengeti lodge, or ask your driver/guide to sort it out on your
behalf; this is of course if the flights are not fully booked.