During a work trip in Melbourne, perfect weather and with the following morning free, i thought this would be the perfect time to experience an (early) sunrise flight. The team at Global Ballooning were quick to confirm my booking and completely hassle free, one email sent and 10 minutes later i had received my confirmation letter and a text from the company confirming my pickup time, must know and additional info.
Off i headed to bed early to ensure i was up and ready to go at the pickup time of 4:15am! My wakeup call goes off and straight up i am in excitement for what was to come. Along for the ride was my fabulous Melbourne photographer, Elle from Bohemian Prints to ensure every moment was captured!
Our driver picked us up and off we headed for the Yarra Valley which was around a 45-minute drive.
We arrived at the destination and met with the other buses, and everyone was allocated to their balloon. We were put in a balloon with 6 other people in a medium sized balloon, however there was a large size balloon which could fit around 20 people! There is also a small balloon for the exclusive proposal and special event flights.
We got to watch the process of the crew preparing the balloons – you don’t realize how big they are until you’re up close!
We then hoped into the balloon and met our pilot Ronald who went over the safety instructions. I must say at this point i was feeling a bit of apprehension and anxiety as the time came to go up in the sky by a balloon! However, once we were off the balloon just glides softly and the anxiety soon disappeared. As the basket is big in size and there are handles provided, you feel pretty secure. The hot air balloon was also just gliding smoothly, and we were lucky to have perfect weather conditions as it wasn’t too windy.
Ronald was very experienced and made everyone feel comfortable…he also made sure we had the best experience by taking the balloon above the clouds to ensure we could capture the perfect photo of the sun rising.
We glided in the sky for around an hour, just taking in the stillness you experience being above the clouds. We travelled over country Melbourne above the vineyards, bush land and greenery mesmerized by the green colours below.
It’s surprisingly not as cold as you would imagine it to be in the balloon as the fire ignites and keeps you warm.
For after an hour or so floating in the sky it was time for our pilot to find somewhere to land… surprisingly more difficult than you would think. As hot air balloons are controlled by the wind, they need to find the perfect place to land which works in with the wind and just hope the owner of the land doesn’t get upset! Fortunately, we had no issues and landed at a location which we could access.
The rest of the crew arrived from Global Ballooning as we all worked together to pack down the balloon which had all involved – even the sweet 5-year-old was rolling around on the balloon to deflate the air… I was actually a tad jealous as this looked fun.
After our experience we were taken for champagne breakfast at a local Vineyard, which was deeeelish and made the pack down process all worthwhile! On the table already waiting was our hot air balloon certificate and a balloon shaped USB which had photos taken during the flight. I was impressed by the efficiency and also a booklet with some great offers from local experience providers.
Overall, a great experience and highly recommended during your stay in the Yarra Valley. If your partner is a private person, then i would recommend arranging an exclusive flight on one of the smaller balloons to ensure you have complete privacy for your special moment. The team at Global Ballooning can arrange marry me banners on the ground or on your balloon.
