East African Safaris continue... still in the Maasai Mara
The night before we were to leave the Maasai Mara I signed up for a balloon flight. I had been thinking about it, but it’s not cheap, about $500 for one hour. But then again, how many times am I going to be in Africa? Along with five others in my group I was picked up at 5:00AM to be taken to the launch site. When we arrived two of those huge bags, partially filled with hot air, were lying on the ground like brightly painted whales. Still in darkness, the morning quietness was shattered with the roar of the hot air being pumped in and soon the balloons were hanging in the breaking light. Just as the sun was about to peak over the horizon, we lifted off. Within moments the sun rose and the African savannah spread out below, a magical sight. Mara means ‘dappled’ in Maasai and it refers to the dappled appearance acacia trees give to the savannah, perfectly named as I could see from my perch in the basket below the balloon.
The night before we were to leave the Maasai Mara I signed up for a balloon flight. I had been thinking about it, but it’s not cheap, about $500 for one hour. But then again, how many times am I going to be in Africa? Along with five others in my group I was picked up at 5:00AM to be taken to the launch site. When we arrived two of those huge bags, partially filled with hot air, were lying on the ground like brightly painted whales. Still in darkness, the morning quietness was shattered with the roar of the hot air being pumped in and soon the balloons were hanging in the breaking light. Just as the sun was about to peak over the horizon, we lifted off. Within moments the sun rose and the African savannah spread out below, a magical sight. Mara means ‘dappled’ in Maasai and it refers to the dappled appearance acacia trees give to the savannah, perfectly named as I could see from my perch in the basket below the balloon.
