The adventure begins just before dawn. Flames from the hot air balloon burners light the darkness as the crew inflate their craft. The first, pink tongues of sunlight flicker across the skies and the hot air balloon fills then rises. Suspended in a basket beneath the rainbow-colored canopy, you are off for a game-viewing adventure with an entirely different perspective. Apart from the occasional hiss of the burners, a lion’s roar, elephants crashing through the bush, baboons perched in the tips of the trees startled and screeching to see something above them, the light above the Maasai Mara plains is magically silent.

At the end of the flight, the passengers are treated to a champagne breakfast in the bush, complete with flowers. China and crystal are set out on the table that is placed under a convenient acacia tree.

The finishing touch to the flight is a game drive back to the camp, and the possibility of seeing the same pride of lions, or herd of elephants that had been viewed while ballooning. A flight certificate is issued on completion of the balloon safari.