The Balloon Safari in Serengeti

One of the most satisfying moments during safari in Africa especially Tanzania is flying slowly above the wilderness of Africa and witness the beauty of the wilderness. It is a special experience looking down and see the flock of animals, elephants grazing freely and seeing predators stalking their prey. To be able to experience all of this, you will have to opt for hot air balloon.

Seeing from the top.

Most of Safaris in Tanzania are mostly done by using classic off-road 4x4 SUV land cruiser cars. These cars do follow a special path for cars already made in national parks. Cars are not allowed to cross where there is no official pathway for these cars.

This sometimes may hinder the full experience of wildlife safari especially when the activity of animals is taking place in the inner parts of the park where cars cannot enter. But using the balloon and flying above the trees and wild animals, the rivers and hills, gives you the best experience that you might not get on the Safari Jeep.

Flying over the African land.

A hot air balloon flying above the flocks of zebras, wildebeest and antelopes is one of the most beautiful adventures you can have if you choose to travel to Tanzania. This is like having an off-road vehicle safari traveling to places that are not easily available for the safari cars.

What Is so Special about the Air baloon Safari?

Having a visit the nature the environment and the animals is always rewarding. Moreover, when you can get close enough to the wild animals without being noticed and be able to see the details of their daily life is so much satisfying. A hot air balloon flight at the national parks of Africa will offers exactly that opportunity.

This way of traveling has a number of several advantages as compared to a jeep ride:

• You may have unusual aspect angle and impressive photographs;
• Gives you the widest view angle: the birds-eye height opens the plain to you as it stretches for miles and mile;
• Gives you the possibility to get close to animals quietly while the gas burner has not yet started making noise;
• Gives you an opportunity to see thing you have missed while on the ground;
• Gives you unrestrained movement: you won’t have to follow the routes approved for the off-road vehicles;
• Also to others it gives the thrilling experience of soaring in the height.

How and When Does a Balloon Flight Takes Place?

The best time for this rising of the air balloon is early morning, and evening before sunset. During these times of the day, the wind is usually the calm and the animals are most active as they hide from the scorching sun in the shade during the day and simply sleep at night. Morning is considered the nice time, because it is at dawn when herds of animals are bravely walking around, welcoming the new day, and predators are on the hunt for them. During these periods you can observe a lot of interesting things.

A takeoff will happen early, at almost 4 a.m. in the morning. All balloon flights always begin at about 6 a.m. you will have an hour or an hour and a half as the time of pre-flight preparation. All travelers will be picked up from their hotels or accommodations and brought to the launching site, and in the meanwhile the crew will prepare the balloon.

Balloon baskets are designed for an even number of persons, usually up to 16. There is also room for the balloon pilot. All people in the balloon will have to stand. Once everyone is on board, air is pressurized into the balloon. With the help of a burner attached to the overall structure, the air in the balloon is heated and it slowly rises up. The pilot adjusts the height by means of the air temperature.

Most of the flights take place up to about 650 feet or 200 meters above the ground. The maximum allowed altitude is nine times higher, at 5,900 feet or 1,800meters, but there is no point in going too high: because, the participants are going to view the animals, not the high clouds. The pilot can approach the treetops or move higher away from them. The wind also contributes to the choice of altitude, dictating the parameters of the flight by force and direction.

In general, all balloon flights depend on weather conditions, most of all on the wind. Planning your upcoming hot air balloon adventure is directly linked to the weather forecast. So, it is better to take it into account when booking your dates. We recommend you to plan your trip to Tanzania so that you would have a few more days to spare after the day set aside for the air safari. This is for the event that the flight might be postponed due to unsuitable weather. In most cases, the flight is simply rescheduled for the next morning.

The balloon safari lasts about an hour. During this time you will see and get a lot of good impressions and travel for at least 6 miles up to as long as 18 miles. The length of the way will depend solely on the wind, its speed, and direction. The route of the flight can not be accurately predicted or easily repeated.

Throughout the flight, a land escort group will be following the balloon at some distance to pick it up during the landing and help everyone out.

Preparing for the Flight

You won’t be needing anything special to take with you to the balloon basket. Just choose appropriate clothing and bring binoculars to help you having the best possible view and to see the details. You will be flying at a height similar to birds, and you can see those birds also soaring, while lionesses lying lazily below the tree branches, families of elephants drinking e water, and huge hippos hiding in the rivers with their backs and heads sticking out.

You should dress warmer than usual, as the preparations for the flight begin in the early hours of the morning, around 4 a.m or 5 a.m., when the land is still cool. You are unlikely to feel cold on the balloon, as the burner that heats the air is close by. And you won’t feel much wind at altitude, because the basket flies in the air flow, moving at the same speed.

How Safe Is Ballooning

In Tanzania, all balloon flights are regulated by the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority: balloons and all equipment are constantly inspected, operating companies are licensed, pilots are also tested for flight fitness and only professional certified pilots are allowed in operating the balloon. Therefore ballooning in Tanzania is safe and you don’t have to worry anything at all.

Where does the balloon flights take place

Serengeti National Park is considered as the perfect place for a hot air balloon safari. This is because, here there is the Great Migration taking place almost all year round, there are huge herds of wildebeests and zebras, along with gazelles and other antelopes, migrate long distances in search of food and water.

Lions, leopards, and cheetahs hunt the stray antelopes and zebras. Sometimes wild cats fight each other for territory. Serengeti is believed to be home to the most predators. You can possibly see all these if you fly into places inaccessible to safari vehicles by using Balloon.

In order to cover all parts of the vast Serengeti plain, there are several launching sites that are in operation. Some of these areas are permanent while others are seasonal, operating in the months when the animals are most abundant.

There is also the opportunity to fly in balloons in other parks and protected areas in Tanzania, such as Tarangire National Park, Grumeti and Ngorongoro Conservation Area. When planning a trip to Tanzania, ask the best tour operators as many questions as you want and tell all your wishes, so that they can work out the best program for you and make your African adventure the most exciting experience of your life.