Hot Air Ballooning - The Purist Form of Flight

Hot air ballooning has always been a bucket list item for me and finally I was given the chance to experience the oldest form of flight known to man. Dale de Klerk, the CEO of Bill Harrop's "Original" Balloon Safaris, invited SA Flyer for a flight, and I jumped at the offer.

- Story and pictures by Garth Calitz

Human beings have forever longed to join the birds in the vast open skies. French scientist, Pilatre De Rozier, could no longer resist the calling of the sky and so began work on the first hot air balloon.

On 19 September 1783 De Rozier launched his 'Aerostat Reveillon'. However, he did not attempt the flight himself. Instead, he decided to test his balloon with some unwilling passengers: a sheep, a duck and a rooster made history as the first hot air balloon flight occupants. They stayed aloft for 15 minutes before crashing back to the ground.

The first manned attempt came just two months later on 21 November, with a balloon built by French brothers, Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier. The balloon was launched from the centre of Paris and flew for 20 minutes.

Hot air ballooning has a very limited daily flight window. Generally, in warmer areas, such as South Africa, the balloons are limited to around an hour’s flight at dawn, which means a very early start to the day.

My morning started at 4:30 am when I left home to make my way to the Hartbeespoort valley in the Skeerpoort area of the North West province. Despite the terrible condition of the roads, it was relatively easy to find Bill Harrops’ as it is clearly sign-posted from all the major routes in the area.

On arrival, everyone was warmly welcomed by the pilots and crew and offered a steaming cup of coffee or hot chocolate, accompanied by freshly baked muffins. In a large floodlit field we could see the crews busy preparing the four balloons that would be used for the day.