Pushing The Envelope

Be the boy (or girl) in the bubble just north of Johannesburg.

- Bruce Dennill

The most dangerous thing about hot air ballooning with Bill Harrop’s Original Balloon Safaris (BHOBS) in the Magaliesberg is getting to the launch site near Skeerpoort in the dark, on single-lane country roads where, at that time of the early morning, potholes are more common than pedestrians (with the occasional early-rising trucker and his massive vehicle further aiding unwanted spikes in adrenaline).

The drive-in-the-dark scenario is necessary because hot air balloons are at the mercy of whatever wind is blowing, and the air is at its most still just before the dawn. And that initial adventure survived, the rest of the preparation for the flight is very civilised indeed. BHOBS recently hosted the South African Hot Air Balloon Championships, so there is more traffic than usual around their clubhouse and the large open field in front of it, where a couple of large envelopes (the name for the brightly coloured ‘balloon’ bit) are already nearing full inflation – at an angle – courtesy of a few large electric fans. They only rise perpendicular to the ground once the gas-powered flame is activated just before take-off, shortly after anyone with a camera has been primed for the moment.

A bearded man in a deerstalker (who wears those anymore?) is wandering about, genially nodding to people, shaking hands and mumbling lines from, what was that …