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Travel Articles
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HOT AIR
BALLOON SAFARI OVER THE AFRICAN PLAINS

Hot Air Balloon Safari Over the
African Plains
By
Ian Williamson
To take a hot air balloon flight
across the Serengeti plains is an unforgettable experience. To see
the vastness of the African plains with the herds of animals below
is to see Africa from a unique perspective.
The balloon flights leave in the
early morning from the Serona Valley in the central Serengeti. This
part of the Serengeti has good concentrations of animals year round;
ensuring whenever you take your flight there will be plenty to see.
It is expensive but if you have come this far a few more dollars is
worth the experience of seeing this land from the air.
You will have to spend the nigh
in a lodge in the Serona area of the Serengeti as departure from you
hotel is 5 am! This will probably the only time you will leave your
lodge before daylight. Night drives are not allowed within the
National Park boundaries.
Your balloon ride, or flight,
will launch ever so gently from the Maasia Kopjes. You rise slowly
from the plains at first light, rising above the trees with the
dawn. At times the balloon will rise to one kilometer or more above
the plains, at other times you will skim over the flat toped acacia
trees. The silence of the flight has to be experienced – and is only
interrupted by the occasional noises from bush and an infrequent
blast of the burners as they put more warm air into the balloon.
The flight is about an hour long
and upon landing there is a champagne celebration and breakfast in
the bush of the Serengeti. The breakfast is Full English served at
tables with linen table clothes, sliver cutlery in true ‘Out of
Africa style.
A memento of your flight in the
form of a certificate is presented after breakfast and then you
return to your lodge before 10h00; this enables you to carry on with
your personal itinerary.
This balloon safari is very
popular and is best booked in advance. However, if you decide to add
it into your schedule at the last minute you are able to book it
from your Central Serengeti lodge, or ask your driver/guide to sort
it out on your behalf; this is of course if the flights are not
fully booked.
For further information on
Zanzibar and Tanzania see
http://betheladventure.co.uk using tourism to fund
community initiatives focused on the education of the young and the
medical care for the whole family. Ensure your safari is using
profits to help the community.
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ian_Williamson
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