Day Fifteen: Kenya: Hot Air Balloon Ride Over the Masaimara Game Park

9:22pm, May 14th, 2019

It was a bit hard waking up this morning considering it was at 4:15am. We had to wake up so early because we were going for a hot air ballon ride over the game park and we had to be at the lunch site in the park by 6:30 but there were some people we had to pick up first and it was a long drive to get there. We finally arrived at the launch site and the sun was still coming up and it was amazing. There were zebras and impala around us that we could faintly see in the low light. As the sun came up so did the balloon. Right at 6:30 we hopped into the balloon with our pilot Razi and 14 other people. So this was a 16 person basket which is the biggest they get I think. Take off was a bit scary and bumpy but once we were in the air it was wild. We instantly saw massive hearts of zebras and impala and wildebeest and buffalos. Seeing the animals and the park from the sky puts into perspective just how many animals there really are and how vast the park is. We saw buffalos running, a den of hyenas and we saw the babies, and we saw elephants. We would go way high into the sky and then skim the ground to get different points of view. We learned about the balloon and the park from Razi, he has been flying big balloons for 10 years now but has been working in the park for many many years. 

Finally we had a very easy landing we were able to stay standing as we landed because it was such an easy tough down. We then got picked up by the crew and taken to our breakfast site which was breakfast in the middle of the game park amongst the animals. My aunt and I sat with a Scottish couple who were on their honeymoon and we had a great time with them they were very fun to chat with. 

We then drove back to our camp with the pilot because he was going to the dentist clinic. We were able to learn all about him on the way back and we also jammed out to some oldies music on the drive back which was pretty fun. We also saw three female lions that we named Sharron, Mathilda, and Alexis. 

Once we got back to the camp we quickly packed up our bags and hit the road to drive back to Nairobi. The ride was about 6 hours and it was extremely dusty. I am a bit sick of cars for the next few days I think. We arrived back at Sula’s house and greeted his wife and son and then sat down for dinner.

Hours for the day: 7

Hours in total: 100.5

Until tomorrow

Maria