Feb 24-25: Airborne

aliceesor

Feb 24-25, 2024: West Melton (near Christchurch) -> Auckland -> Victoria

We were at Canterbury Ballooning in the dark, yawning and signing our waivers as the bus shuttled us to the launch site.
As the pre-dawn light crept into the sky, our pilot, Nick, (and ground crew Michael), tasked us with helping set up the beautiful balloon and wicker basket.
After filling the balloon with cold air using fans, then heat via one of two gas burners, all 12 of us climbed in.

Nick kept adding heat, and at some point Michael unhooked us from our tether.

I couldn’t pinpoint when we left ground it was so gentle. Away we went!

It was a mix of incredible quiet and bursts of loud as Nick judiciously added heat. The air in the balloon cooled rapidly, so by adding heat or releasing it on one side or the other, Nick could adjust our altitude and rotate the balloon.

Rosy golden hour looking west
Sunrise #2 (it counts if you dip down and pop back up again, right?)
We were floating along at the speed of a touring bicycle, but it was warm with the blasts of heat, and absence of windchill… the puffy was definitely overkill!
When we were high up, we looked out towards the Southern Alps to the west, and the Pacific ocean in the east.
When we were lower (barely clearing hills, fences, and nudging a couple of treetops), we could see the sheep, deer, cattle, crops, and irrigation systems of the farmland below.
Apparently, whole sections of it are 5-foot tall kale grown for cattle feed!
Our landing tipped us over, which I hadn’t expected.
When we climbed out, we were recruited to pack up the balloon (all the air needs to come out again, just like packing up a reeeeeally big tent).
Then we were served a traditional bubbly to toast to our flight (the balloon all packed into that red package behind me on the right!)
Altogether a super cool experience.

After ballooning, we trundled off to the airport and repacked our gear from Tightie Whitie into our own bags, and went our separate ways: Mum and Jessi to Queenstown for exploration further south where they will rejoin John and Sachi. Clare, Flis, and I to Auckland for the night.

Auckland was warm! (Extra warm if you traversed this hilly park as often as we did)

We’d booked an ultra cheap “family room” with three beds and little else, so we spent the evening roaming around on foot. We found some zealous security at a waterfront bar, some Malaysian food for dinner, and a gelateria with SO MANY flavours (dill pickle? butter and sage?).

Sky tower in the big city

I also heard what sounded like live swing music, and sure enough I discovered a private swing dancing party, which we were sadly unprepared to join (all three in hiking boots, and my feet are still recovering from slicing and impaling them while trying to emulate the laid-back locals earlier this week).

Breakfast cafe in a semi-open courtyard
And now, homeward. Alas!

I dithered (one of my best skills) about whether to come on this trip. It is expensive to take unpaid time off work, and this was certainly not budget travel. I was worried it would be frustrating and ineffective to make decisions about how to spend our time in such a large group, especially a group of adults who are all used to doing things our own ways.
It was absolutely worthwhile. Please remind future me, who wonders why I still can’t buy a place to live, that time and money are only resources. It’s what you do with them that makes for a rich life.
Besides, you might die soon. As John would say, YOLO!

I’m writing this from the plane, and although it’s sad to be at the end of such a big, exciting trip, I am also looking forward to seeing my cats, and sleeping in my own bed, and having a functional means of paying for stuff myself (credit card dysfunction is another good reason to travel with people you can pay back later).

Alice

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