Balloon with a view

The view Pilot Mike gets every day from his office

Up, up and away

Getting ready for take off

The trip afforded us 48 hours to visit the Maasai Mara and we made the most of it. On the Monday we were inside the park before sun rise and didn't leave until it had set again. This allowed us time for one of the epic moments of our journey.

I rose at 4.30 am and needed my head torch to find my way to the toilets and showers. By 5.00 am I was being taken by Land Rover back through the gates of the Maasai Mara national park. My stomach was tense with excitement at what was to come. I popped travel sickness pills to be on the safe side, the awful nausea that had gripped me in Kas, Turkey still very fresh in my memory.

The airfield was alive with people preparing the balloons for flight and one by one these giants came to life just as the first light of dawn broke over the horizon. Our pilot, Mike, a Kiwi, introduced himself and briefed us on our flight. Personally, I thought the instruction not to step outside of the basket under any circumstances was a bit like stating the bleeding obvious. Probably an insurance thing, a bit like 'Warning, may contain nuts', on a packet of KP salted peanuts. Always best to assume you are speaking to idiots I suppose.

Up to this point my idea of balloon flight was very much dependent on the Nimble adverts in the 1970's. There's a small basket, a big balloon and as long as your dress size is an 8 or less you will float above the clouds endlessly whilst eating insubstantial sandwiches made from really crappy bread to the tune of 'I can't let Maggie go'. It came as a shock, therefore, to discover that we were to reach for the skies 12 at a time in a very big basket. Still less did I expect to have to assume the missionary position in order to take off.

The basket begins on its side and is divided into two rows - top and bottom. The top row load first. Imagine sitting on a seat that has fallen onto its back and you have the idea. Then the bottom row run in and assume the position too. The burners roar and there is a sudden rush of heat as the pilot inflates the balloon fully. Outside the basket many hands steady the whole affair. Although there is only a gentle breeze it is already wanting to take the balloon away and it drags the basket upright, forcing us to sit the right way up, tucked well under the rim of the basket. Through the small gaps in the wicker-work I see the ground crew still steadying the balloon and holding it down. The pilot then announces we can stand and we do so to find that we are now 20 feet in the air and rising gently. My brain assimilates three bits of good news: 1. I'm floating in a balloon over the Maasai Mara; 2. I don't feel in the slightest bit sick; 3. There's not a bloody Nimble sandwich in sight.

Another of my misconceptions was once a balloon is in the air there is nothing much to be done but cling on and enjoy the ride. But Kiwi Mike isn't dressed as a pilot for nothing and with what little control he does have he manages to manoeuvre this magnificent beast of an aircraft with great skill. Obviously, he can control up and down through the use of the powerful gas burners. Small vents cunningly built into the fabric of the balloon also allow him to turn the balloon, in the same way that retro-rockets allow for small movements of a spacecraft. In this way the passengers are given a 360 degree view of the Maasai Mara as we turn very gently above it.

The earliest recorded balloon flight was in 1783 when a sheep, a duck and a rooster were hoisted aloft. That flight ended in a crash, as did many others in the early days of ballooning. But modern balloons rarely come to grief, although I notice with alarm that when they do the subsequent news report usually includes the words 'crashed in a fiery ball'. Putting aside all thoughts of the impact with the ground at least relieving me from the sensation of being burned alive, I felt very safe throughout. And not once did Pilot Mike have to remind me to remain inside the basket.

Our altitude varied throughout from almost touching the trees to a stunning 1000 feet, allowing us to see the foothills of Tanzania and the Serengeti in the distance.

Below us the creatures of the Maasai Mara begin to go about their daily business. Herds of wildebeest and zebra chomp their way across the plain. Three spotted hyenas jog alongside a dry looking creek. A family of elephant gaze up at us warily whilst picking leaves from the acacia trees. A female cheetah climbs onto a flattened termite mound to survey her territory and keep an eye on her nearby cub.

A lone lioness is seen striding purposefully across the open ground and in her wake are 4 cheetahs. Mike , who has picked up a lot of knowledge about wildlife during his 13 years in Africa, informs us:

'These guys are having some fun, letting the lioness know she has been seen. The cheetahs are quite young. They know that the lioness will kill them if she catches them but they also know they are much faster than she is. They're taunting her.'

It's like Usain Bolt calling Mike Tyson an ugly, fat goon from across the road.

The flight lasts an hour. As we near the Mara River we are told to crouch down in the basket once more and Mike tells us to expect two touches with the ground - a heavy one then a lighter one. Sure enough there is a thump as we make contact with terra firma once more and this is followed by a more gentle scraping as the basket comes to rest in an upright position. The eagle has landed.

We are very efficiently herded into a waiting Land Rover while the ground crew, who pop up from nowhere as I never saw them following us on the ground, begin to deflate and pack the balloon.

We are whisked away to an area of open plain where long picnic tables groan under a magnificent variety of breakfast food - croissants, eggs, meats, sausages, breads, cheeses, yoghurts, fruits and quiche. Behind us the first of many bottles of champagne are popped open. The spread is so tasty and looks so good that there is only one thing left to do to round off this wonderful experience - make like a zebra and graze. Cheers!