As you ascend aerially, beautiful features unfold before your eyes – gentle rolling hills, meandering rivers and lush grasslands. From this vantage point, you realize that you can locate wildlife with little guidance – giraffes, elephants, gazelles, hippos and many other grazers and foragers. If you are lucky, you may even spot the lordly predators like lions, hyenas, cheetahs and other hunters. As you sail above the reserve, you gain a greater perspective and deeper appreciation for the intricacies of the Mara ecosystem, as well as the synergistic relationship between flora, fauna and human.
You see how animals feed upon vegetation, moving when a new supply is needed. You watch herds move toward the water to drink and bathe. You watch as two elephant bulls fight for breeding rights. You notice how a cheetah mother gracefully moves through tall grasses to hunt food for her young.You observe a fish eagle soar in the open skies before diving to the river’s surface where it elegantly extracts a fish.
Should your personalized travel to Masai Mara Reserve occur from July to October, you may also be enthralled by the Great Migration of enormous herds of wildebeests and zebras. Your hot air balloon ride lasts about two hour, but your experience lasts a lifetime and very much worth its high price. After landing, the ground crew helps you out of the basket and escorts you to a lovely setting for a bush breakfast.A customary champagne toast celebrates not only your experience, but also the incredible beauty that you discover during your superb dream vacation in Africa.
Price information:
This exciting experience is always an extra beside your already booked safari and costs $450 which can be paid during you booking or directly to the balloon crew.
The day of your hot air balloon safari with Civvet begins before dawn. You awaken to the quiet sounds of the East African bush – soft calls of indigenous birds, rustling vegetation signaling the presence of a large mammal, low snorts and grunts of hippos returning to the river and may be a distant roar of a lion.
Your memories are filled with images of the prior day’s game drive through Masai Mara National Reserve. Your curiosity is piqued as to the wonder and amazement you are sure to feel as you drift above the savannah plains in a hot air balloon.
A soft voice outside your tent pulls you back to reality, and you hurriedly dress in your favorite Kenya safari attire. You are sure that the air will be cool, so you don long trousers and a comfortable shirt before putting on your hiking shoes. As you head out, you grab the last of your belongings – a hat, long-sleeved jacket or warm fleece, camera and binoculars.
A member of the ground crew awaits you by the 4×4 vehicle. You climb aboard and head out across the open plains. The pre-dawn hour gives you an interesting insight into animal behavior. Hyenas gather around the remains of a lion kill, a young elephant playfully chases various birds and a gazelle springs amongst the grasses. Ahead you see some of the launch staff where the massive balloon is partially inflated and billows in the gentle morning breeze. You watch intently as the crew attaches the basket and burner. Suddenly, an orange flame illuminates the setting, creating an almost artistic contrast with the soft pastel colors of the dawn sky. After a few minutes, you climb into the basket.Anticipation grows as you await the launch.
The ground crew skillfully steadies the balloon as the pilot lights the burner consistently. You feel a strange sensation in your stomach as you see the ground slip away. You look across the landscape, seeing what you imagine being the farthest edges of the terrain.
