Page 148 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL WINTER 2024 SCOTLAND

morning, we were up at 4 a.m. to celebrate
my birthday with a sunrise hot-air balloon
ride over the Serengeti. We had a quick
breakfast by the fire pit. We wore traveling
clothes and hats because our safari
clothes were still in transit. The guides pro‐
vided blankets to ward off the morning
chill (about 58 degrees to get into the high
70s during the day).
The Serengeti is some 5,500 square
miles in area, and the seasonal migration
moves across its length and breadth with
somewhat predictable timing. Herds were
now starting to move north toward the
Mara River and Kenya. Our balloon adven‐
ture was planned to follow some of the
movements from above. The launching
area was two hours away, and we enjoyed
a mini-game drive in the dark on the way.
We spotted a family of lions crossing one
road and several small groups of wilde‐
beests and zebras huddling in the trees,
waiting for the light to move.

Birthday Balloon Adventure

The crews from Serengeti Balloon Air‐
ways had two balloons being readied when
we arrived. The 16-person baskets were on
their sides. Passengers settled into their
seats on their backs and buckled up. The
pilot fired up his burners to fill the balloon
with hot air. It rose gradually and pulled
our gondola vertically, so we were all
standing tall, watching the ground drift
away as we headed north. The sun rose red
and orange over the plains.
We visited in July at the beginning of
the northward migration, so huge numbers
of animals were on their way. We just spot‐
ted a few small herds of wildebeests, Ze‐
bras, and gazelles on the flat plain that
extended horizon to horizon. All was quiet,
except for the pilot providing insights into
the migration and how the migration would

148 WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE WINTER 2025