Luck of the Hot Air Balloon

I never ever win prizes, competitions or sweepstakes. (Yep, I'm one of those people.) But during our visit to Broke Fordwich my luck turned and I won a spot on a hot air balloon ride over the stunning Broke region. Not realising a 4AM morning wakeup call was necessary, I was ecstatic. Nonetheless, that morning I dragged myself out of bed and headed out to meet the crew from Beyond Ballooning. We drove out to a secluded spot where the wind conditions were just right. After watching the crew prep the balloon and basket, we hopped in and away we went.

The ascent was just glorious and the view from above was breathtaking. Rows of vines, glassy rivers, and rolling hills... all cast with a shadow of our balloon that was a constant reminder that what goes up, must come down. The journey was surprisingly smooth, and the landing was a lot more gentle than anticipated.

Previous to my visit to Broke Fordwich, I had taken helicopter rides while on holidays to see things from a different perspective and it's never been something I regret later. There is something so serene about seeing any given landscape from a bird's eye view that puts it all into a calming, peaceful perspective. But the Hot air balloon experience is pretty different to riding sky high in a chopper. And now that I've done it once, I can honestly say that I'd do it again and again... except maybe next time in France.