Exploring the Masi Mara by baloon

Today I got up at 4:30 and coffee and cookies were brought to my room at 4:45. They have a guard walk with you from your tent to the lodge so that nothing attacks you. We left for the balloon ride at 5:15 to meet at a near by Lodge. Bob and Kay went with me. After all the people had arrived we walked a distance through the woods to a clearing where they were blowing air into a couple of giant balloons. The balloons were attached to very large wicker baskets that could hold about 12 people. After the balloons were partially inflated the captain ( there was one for each balloon) turned on the flame and the gas bag began to rise to the vertical. The basket had foot holds and using them we all climbed over the top and into one of eight sections on the basket. The bottom of each section had a cylindrical inflated pillow that we were to sit on upon landing. Additional flame caused the balloon to rise and we were off. The Masi Mara is flat to slightly rolling with several rivers (dry in some places) flowing through it. The Mara is mostly grassland with trees along the river. We saw a fantastic sunrise as we rose. There were hundreds of wildebeest (Gnu), zebra and many different antelope. We also saw a heard of elephants and some hippos in the river. Giraffes were in many places starting their day of munching. In addition to our sister balloon, there were several more in the distance. Our captain was a great guide pointing out the various herds of animals as we passed over. He didn’t have much control of direction but could raise or lower the balloon and using vents on the side, rotate the basket so all could see and our landing was in the proper orientation. The landing was very gentle and we did not tip over. About 8 workers in red uniforms controlled the balloon on lift off and landing. We were then driven a short way, (we aren’t allowed to walk in the Masi Mara to protect ourselves and the animals) to a champagne breakfast on a small rise. It was a large breakfast with egges and pancakes cooked to order in the open.

Our driver then met us and took us on another game viewing drive. We had seen everything except at leopard. We drove and drove in leopard friendly areas without seeing one. Eventually we spotted a BBC video crew that had left a monitor van to keep an eye on the leopard. After a time taking video and pictures we moved on back to the Masa Mari Intrepid tent camp for lunch. The have had the best food of all the lodges we visited. After a pleasant lunch with Bob and Kay I said good by and finished packing and went to wait on the bus to the airport. There was some confusion about who would take me to the airport but I was finally driven to the dirt strip about half a mile away. While waiting for the plane a guy drove out next to the strip to shoo zebras off the runway. Zebras on the runway are a unique problem that comes with the territory. The flight allowed great viewing of the great rift valley and we landed at Wilson airport without incident. This is a small plane airport and I had to be transferred to the Kenyatta International airport. The head of the tour company, Michael, met me and took me and my baggage to the big airport. As the small planes couldn’t take much luggage he had kept my large bag from the day before and brought it with him. I got to the airport at 5:00 to wait until my 11:00 departure. I was able to get on the Internet which has not been available for the last couple of days and work on these notes.