Sunday 21 December 2014

Not only does visiting some of the most varied game-filled wildlife attractions in Africa create priceless, and memorable experiences, experiencing it from a bird’s point of view is a totally awesome and unique way to seize.
A feeling which is indescribable, crispness of the African air, chill in the wind that hits your face as your Masai Mara or Serengeti hot air balloon gradually rises, smoothness in the exhale of your breath, and the excitement to see and learn more. One’s physical presence can be felt on the plains of the Serengeti Mara ecosystem when reading this.
Your trip begins when you get your wakeup call at your safari lodge in the heart of the Masai Mara or Serengeti in the early hours of the morning, as you yawn away, and thoughts about your wildlife viewing from an elevated position begins to stir your mind. The fresh Tanzanian traditional hot tea and coffee quickly awaken you, in fact preparing you for a mission.
By 06h00 you are almost arriving at the hot air balloon site in the Serengeti. As you approach the site, the balloon seems bigger than you expected, the experience is one of that has never been visited, and you are about to have a trip of a lifetime.
Liftoff! Up and away we go! At 6:15 a.m. the hot air balloon safari starts. The captain asks you to relax and experience the wonders under the African sky. As you finally start to get a grip on the elevation, an inner smile that resonates on one’s face does not need an explanation. The wildebeest moving in large numbers across the Serengeti plains, the beauty of the landscape when the rising sin’s bright orange colors are displayed, the elephants at the water pool, and the gazelles and zebras scampering away, just if it was their first time to witness an alien object in the sky.
By 7:15 a.m. one is very content with balloon safari, and it is almost touch down time. There is celebration, and for those who prefer a toast, champagne is served as hot breakfast in the bush is being prepared. You ask yourself, is this true? I am really doing this trip of a lifetime in the Serengeti/ Mara Ecosystem? As the sweetness and aroma of the African coffee or tea surrounds you, with fresh eggs being served as you like it, you hope another ride, and wish that such luxury never ended. By the time you finish your Serengeti bush breakfast, you have made up your decision to immigrate to Tanzania because such life is only found here. You begin to question yourself, and you feel an urgency to seek, live and enjoy this pristine beauty, a once in a lifetime “thing”.
By 9:00 a.m. you have been declared a champion, a mighty certificate of completion handed out to you which you hope to display in your home country, to family, friends, coworkers. Clapping and participation by everyone present makes you proud to have achieved a trip as wonderful as this. By then, you hear a blaring sound of music or even an annoying buzz; you turn around and switch of the alarm clock. Your eyes wide open, you know that you have to get back to Kenya or Tanzania; again otherwise the recurring dreams will drive you mad.  Hot air balloon safaris.

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