How to do a Hot air balloon safari
How to do a Hot air balloon safari : Hot air balloon safari is one of the most expensive and interesting ways to experience the richness of the African wild. There is nothing that can be compared to as safari floating on top of grazing flocks of antelopes watching predators hunting them from a distance, Giraffes feeding on the tree shrubs and the herds of elephants. The Hot air balloon safari were founded based on a scientific principle that warmer air rises in cooler air, this is because the hot air is lighter than cool air because of its less mass per unit volume. What is needed for 8the Hot air balloon to rise you need a way to reheat the air. All Hot air balloons have a burner under the open balloon envelope. The burner uses propane gas which is used for central heating purposes.
The Hot air balloon has three major parts: the burner, which is heats the air, the balloon envelope which holds the air and the basket which carries the passengers. With the modern hot air balloons, the envelope is constructed from long nylon gores and reinforced with sewn-in webbing. The gores extending from the base of the envelope to the crown are made up of smaller panels. Nylon works perfectly well in balloons simply because it is light in weight and its high melting temperatures. The skirt which is the base of the envelope is coated a heat resistant material.
The hot air inside the envelop won’t escape from the hole at the bottom because of buoyancy which keeps it moving up. When the pilot want it to continue moving up he continuously fires the burner.
The hot air balloon has a cord that opens the parachute valve at the top of the envelope. Whenever the pilot wants the balloon to slow its ascent ,he/she pulls the attached cord which makes the hot air escape from the envelope decreasing the inner temperature, if the pilot keeps valve open long enough the balloon will start to sink. The hot air balloons use a wicker basket to carry the passengers ,this is because it is flexible and largely lightweight. Its flexibility helps it when landing, wicker materials flexes absorbing the landing energy.
The controls of a hot air balloon are simple moderated between heating to make the balloon rise and venting it to bring it down and when the pilot want the Balloon to move across the park they just change the altitude because the wind blows in different directions at different altitudes. To choose his or her preferred direction, the pilot descends or ascends to the suitable level and rides with the wind. This helps the pilots to control the horizontal speed by just changing the altitude as the wind speed changes altitude. Balloon safaris is the lifetime experience one can never forget, its starting sound and shakes can scare and at most guests are advised to sit down cover their eyes as the balloon starts lifting the basket on air slowly with high heart bits as you internally feel the motions when its leaving the grounds as your body feels crazy yet you have no control over it. The activity starts in the morning and takes about 1 or 2 hours depending on the weather of the day, as the tourists enjoy the aerial view birds of the undulating scenery of the great rift valley, forests, observing closely cats especially if they are on a hunt we follow them as we join them too hunt. The best time to have a hot air balloon safari is early in the morning and evenings just before the sunset. It is in this time that the wind is usually the calmest and the animals are most active because during the day they tend to shade from the hot sun of the day.
The best time for Hot air balloon safari
There is nothing that can match a hot air safari on the African savannah. The best time to do the hot air safari is in the early mornings before sunrise, although it is a all year-round sport. The perfect weather conditions foe ballooning are just before sunrise and 2 to 3 hours before sunset. During these times the wind is ideal which is mostly between 4 to 6 miles per hour. The reason why hot air balloon is best suitable at sunset or sunrise is because at these time of the day the air temperatures and the wind conditions are usually more stable.
One of the places to enjoy hot air balloons safari is at Governor’s camp Maasai Mara National Reserve Kenya. From the camp passengers are welcomed and briefed on what to expect on their balloon. Maasai Mara National Reserve plains are the most suitable for the ballooning safari because of its predictable winds, no power lines, no mountains and there are no private properties that the balloon might land on them. When you are on a hot air balloon at Maasai Mara, you have unlimited changes of viewing different animals as you can spot them from a far distance, some of the animals most likely to be seen includes antelopes, lions, elephants , Giraffes, zebras, wildebeest, Warthogs, Elands, Gazelles, Baboons, bushbuck, impala, duiker, Hyenas, cheetahs, Rhinos among other animals.
Most of the flights are usually between 50 to 100 m above the ground, but the pilots can approach the Treetops or move away from them. It is one of the most safe tour safari because of its height from the animals on the ground. The balloons are also well maintained and serviced more often to ensure that it is in good condition. Flying a hot air balloon requires a large team to make it a success, which makes the price of a trip quite high but it is worth it and highly rewarding experience. Hot air balloons are flown by very experienced and highly trained pilots.
The places to have the hot air balloon Kenya safari is Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya or Serengeti National park in Tanzania, this is where the famous Great migration takes place every year all year round.
