Serengeti Ballooning… A stylish way to travel!

Samantha our amazing tour leader has been ticking off her bucket list as the years go by  whilst working with Acacia Africa. Here is her story….

When I started as an overland guide for Acacia I started to write my very own Africa Bucket list; for example, I have done a skydive, been to the Serengeti and done the mighty Zambezi White Water Rafting. There are others on my list such as countries I’d like to visit, but for the most part, many things on my bucket list I will encounter as a guide. My most recent ‘tick’ off my list was the Serengeti Balloon Safari!!

I currently have a big group of 22, most of whom will be with me for almost 2 months; 7 of them had made it known early in the trip that they wanted to do the Safari, so I decided to join my awesome clients this time. I know that I can do this on any trip, but to have 7 people to share the experience with I thought…no time like the present.
All I can say is WOW!!! It was an early morning for us all, even by overland standards, as we were picked up and driven 45km to the meet point. On a fairly chilly morning we waited at the meet site and watched the huge balloons being inflated in tandem, excitement levels were maxed out as we stood watching in awe and eagerly waiting for the moment when our captain Dan called us over for a safety briefing, and the moment we boarded the basket!

Take off was smooth, and as we stood up in the basket we realized that we were off to see the magnificent Serengeti by air; I’m not only talking about the animals, but the vast extent of such a beautiful area. We started by flying within 10m of the ground, all eyes were open to spot animals, and sure enough there they were. The further we went, Dan gave us more height and we were then in awe of what even I hadn’t seen before; visibility was about 300km in all direction, and it was my first glimpse and realization as to the meaning of ‘Serengeti’…endless plains!! Cameras were clicking every so often, but all of us there were taking only a few pictures so as to enjoy the view and create a thousand memory photos.

I knew that the balloon ride would be incredible, but I had under estimated it. We did miss a morning game drive, but we experienced something that very few people have, and will do. On landing, I remember feeling as though I was in a rollercoaster, not because it was a rough landing but because we couldn’t see as we were sitting down so it was the anticipation as to what was going to happen. We were driven to where the other balloon passengers were meeting and enjoyed a glass of bubbly and a toast to celebrate the ride…and after that we had a full English breakfast in the middle of the Serengeti!! The whole experience was AMAZING! I would definitely recommend that this is done when visiting the Serengeti!

And a small example of how small the world is; our captain, Dan, was a British guy who lives 15 minutes down the road from where I used to live in the UK! Spooky 🙂

Written by: Samantha Williams, Acacia Tour Leader