Hot Air Balloon in Masai Mara – from $430

Want to make your Kenyan safari holiday even more unforgettable? Spice it up with a hot air balloon ride in the famous Maasai Mara National Reserve

COST: USD 430 per person

Want to make your Kenyan safari holiday even more unforgettable? Spice it up with a hot air balloon ride in the famous Maasai Mara National Reserve

Description

Balloon safaris are a romantic and evocative way of experiencing the wilderness of East Africa, as you gracefully and silently fly over the plains teeming with herds of wildlife in the early morning.

Typically, a Hot Air balloon safari begins at break of dawn, about 5 am, and lasts for around 1 hour, during which you will fly over parts of the vast Masai Mara plain, seeing the magnificent wildlife below, spread over several square kilometers of the reserve..

Balloon flights are available daily in Maasai Mara and take off from designated sites where the disturbance to animals is kept to a minimum. Your safari vehicle drops you off at the take off site and picks you up from your landing site. The flight is followed by a champagne breakfast “in the bush”, with a well laid out seating arrangement and waiters on hand, to give you a fitting finale to your memorable flight in the wild.

The scenery from a hot air balloon is unforgettable due to its spectacular and breathtaking nature; the ultimate safari experience. The balloon flight takes you over the diverse habitats of the Masai Mara Reserve; the great Mara River, swamps, forests, wildlife and the African Savannah. The diversity of our flight trail enables passengers to experience a unique opportunity to be a part of the Masai Mara from the air.

The gentle and silent nature of the balloon flight allows the passengers to view the wildlife from a comfortable distance. The big five; the lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo can be seen frequently along with other animals such as hippos, crocodiles, giraffes, zebras, antelopes, birds and many more.

Program:

Departure is from your lodge where you are collected by one of our drivers in our 4×4 safari vehicles before dawn (normally between 4.30-5.00am). Occasionally, if preferred, you can use your own drivers/vehicles from the lodge where you are staying, this can be arranged at time of booking.

The experience begins when you arrive at the launch site in the heart of the Masai Mara National Game Reserve. It is dark and you can hear animals grazing close by, with the occasional lion roaring in the distance at his early morning ‘kill’, but the immediate sense is of activity as our crew team are bustling around the balloon basket and the balloon envelope laid out on the ground ready for inflation.

You will often be seated in the basket prior to Take-off. The pilot will inflate the balloon and when it is safe to do so and the balloon is standing upright, he will tell you to stand-up, your adventure has really begun. The sharp-eyed will spot animals quickly; what never fails to amaze is the natural camouflage African wildlife has. Gently gliding with the wind over the plains of the Masai Mara, the silence, beauty and magnitude is breathtaking!

Once the balloon has landed, the pilot will ask you to stay in the basket until he has deflated the balloon and the ground crew and drivers have arrived to pack the balloon away. This is the Masai Mara and wild animals may be close by: so passengers are asked to stay close to the basket until the drivers arrive. In most cases they are there as you land.

Your Balloon Safari Masai Mara finishes with a flourish. In the time celebrated tradition of balloon flights the world over, you toast your return to earth with breakfast in the Masai Mara (complete with sparkling wine), served in the bush close to wherever you land. Your lodge drivers will collect you from the bush breakfast and return you safely to your lodge with a game drive.