Tooclose, 83

A thrilling photography safari to Kenya Africa still raining. Wake up call at 5:00 am it's still dark and very
wet. I could hear the drops falling from the leaves on to the vinyl cover over the
tent all night. I was sure there would be no flight today.
By five thirty we were on our way over the muddy, rough road to the balloon
center. A group of workers were setting up a huge red balloon with
large fans. about a dozen men held on and it was tied with a large
rope to a flatbed army truck. Talking to the captain, he had been
here in Africa for three years after leaving Israel. He was waiting
for the clouds to rise a bit and get a little lighter.
there were six of us scheduled at $500 each for the ride. We all
watched as the captain lit the burners and the red balloon with lion
paws on the side slowly begin to rise upright. "come on a board" he
called . we all climbed the steps into the wicker basket. WaitIng a
few more minutes before the the crew let go. If your eyes were
closed you would not know you were moving with the burner off we rose
silently and gently a few feet and the light wind carried us to the
west along the escarpment of the great rift of Kenya anD Tanzania. the
captain not wanting to end up on top of the escarpment kept the craft
low, just skimming the grass and passing trees with in a few feet .
I couldn't believe how smooth the ride was and how silent when the
burners were off. it takes about 20 seconds for the hot air to expand
so you always have to anticipate what s ahead. the balloon canopy was
like a giant umbrella keeping us dry as we drifted over the savannah.
Eland, impala, giraffe, toki, and cape buffalo dotted the MASAI
MARA . single trees with the bottoms browsed by elephants and the
tops by giraffes sparsely covered the landscape. We drifted slowly
startling a tribe of baboons in the trees. Off in the distance we
could see herds of animal razing the tall grass. Only two months ago
the ground had been hard barren dust as the last migration had eaten
ever