Hot air balloons are fun! Besides being a soft and non-invasive way to travel, they give a new perspective on the landscape around you. We did it over wine country in Burgundy and Napa. Yes vineyards are beautiful from down on the ground but from overhead, they are downright majestic!
Luckily the weather gods were on our side. We have had several hot air balloon rides aborted in years past due to high or erratic winds or downright rain. In fact the very sunrise balloon trip we were taking on Christmas morning had been cancelled on Christmas Eve morning due to high winds and on Boxing Day because of the fog and mist. Ours thankfully was never in question. It was a perfect day. Except for the lack of sleep, that is.
We were meeting the pick up land cruiser at the Bakubung Gate of Pilanesberg National Park where we would be spending the next three days on safari. We were coming up from Joburg which is about a two hour drive. We got the call the night before on Christmas Eve that the trip was "a go". We would be meeting at 4:15 in the morning! Two hours plus an hour to shower and finish packing up the car. You do the math. We were up at 1:00 in the morning for a 2:00 departure and a 4:00 pick up. We figured it shouldn't be a problem for Alex. He had only just arrived in Joburg a couple of days before from California and his biological clock had not yet adjusted. He was already suffering from jet lag. What's the difference? But we live here! Oh well, sleep is overrated.
We slowly followed a mother and baby white rhino down the road for meters. They trot very gracefully. Almost like ballet. The white rhino mother pushing the baby along with her horn.
Our guide told us that in contrast, the black rhino mother usually walks ahead of her baby in order to clear the path and flush out any predators hidden in their bush habitat. White rhinos prefer a habitat of open savannah so they can easily survey the area for any dangerous threats.
We reached the launch site just before sunrise and watched as the two balloons were finished being filled with hot air heated by huge flames. Awe-inspiring.
"Up, up and away!" as the Fifth Dimension sang.
The view was magnificent! Pilanesberg is built on the remains of an extinct volcano. From up above you can see the mountains and hills which make up the periphery of the caldera. A natural fence for the game! That means the game roam freely all through Pilanesberg without any need of artificial barriers. It is very organic.
Zebra, giraffe, every manner of antelope, baboons, and vervet monkeys jumping from tree to tree. Four more white rhino, two more lions, and the best Christmas present of all - two black rhino. Hidden by a thick bush barrier at eye level from the road, they were downright easy to see in a clearing in the middle!
After about two hours - which literally flew by - we made a soft landing near a road where our retrieval crew were waiting to catch us and bring us in safely. We were greeted with a table set for sun-uppers! Champagne and / or orange juice. Cheers! What a great way to welcome a Christmas Day!
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| Some more of Alex's presents |
Once we landed and once the adrenaline rush wore off (and okay, once we had that glass of champagne) the weariness set in. We were taken over to Bakubung Lodge for a sumptuous breakfast buffet and it took every inch of energy I had to not fall asleep in my pain au chocolat!
By the time we checked into Tambuti Lodge in the Black Rhino Reserve in Pilanesberg, it was only 10:30 in the morning. But we had been up for nine hours already. That is essentially a day. The good news is that our rooms were ready. Plenty of time to open Christmas presents and take a nice nap before lunch, high tea, a traditional afternoon game drive and a festive Christmas Dinner.
We've ushered in Christmases before in some memorable settings like Vatican City and the Austrian Alps, but this one will be tough to beat!
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