Namibia part 3: Up!

The view when you’re sitting down because your legs have turned to jelly is not bad either

You have to do this, my dad said a few months before. Yes, but I am scared of heights. Sian and Lily are not, however, so we do it. It’s fine, just look at the horizon, my dad said. It turns out this doesn’t work, so I sit down above a certain height (30 metres?). It’s enough to quell my rising panic and twitchy legs, and I can still see over the edge. It helps to be 6ft9, when seated at least. Win-win, if I remember to breathe, which I mostly do. And, oh my goodness it is glorious, and peaceful. You move on the breeze, so it feels entirely still.

We are ballooning, of course, in possibly the most beautiful place it is possible to balloon, although I did once see some over the Masai Mara and think I fancy doing that. Not least because they kept low, a couple of dozen metres above giraffes’ heads.

We are ballooning, of course, in maybe the most beautiful place it is possible to balloon, although I did once see some over the Masai Mara and think I fancy doing that. Not least because they kept low, a couple of dozen metres above giraffes’ heads.

Inflation!

Lift off!

Initially, we follow the gradient up, sitting 20-30 metres above the permanent, grass-covered sand piled up against the mountainside, looking at the ‘fairy circles’, gaps in the grass which are either a mystery or caused by termites secreting formic acid, depending on who you ask. But as craggier sections approach, we rise quickly, and suddenly, although everything is smooth on this ride, we go high, really high. Is it 6,000 or 9,000ft? Maybe it’s 3,000. I don’t know, I’m sitting down now, peering through a hatch in the side of the basket at one of the other balloons and the mountains beneath it. We have to get over these to get to our landing spot, as this is the way the wind is blowing.

Perfect stillness, with the odd blast of heat

The views are incredible, I am told by my family. I peer over the parapet and agree. From the sun rising over the Naukluft mountains to the east, to its golden light falling on the apparently endless sand sea to the west, it is breathtaking. But it is the stillness which makes the whole experience so special: a sense of peace and a benign universe at work is what I will take away from the experience, over and above the disconcerting and visceral acrophobia which turns my legs to jelly.

My kind of height

There are 17 of us, 4 in each corner pod plus the pilot, Richard, who is over from England for a few months. It doesn’t feel cramped up in this endless sky. We share our pod with a Japanese tour guide, who has done 5 southern African countries in 15 days with his group of 4 and will be in Switzerland with another group next week, back in Africa the week after. He looks happy but tired. Our 3-week-one-country itinerary feels quite relaxed suddenly.

Low flight over the mountain

As we descend, we spot small lines of oryx and springbok walking high lines where red dune meets black rock, and groups grazing out on the plain. I am standing again now, just in time to be told to sit down for landing. We adopt a brace position in case, but it is the gentlest of set-downs. These guys are pros.

Smiles all round: joy and wonder (Sian & Lily) and relief (me)

We are driven a short distance to our breakfast spot, a series of white cloths draped over tables and an ample buffet. Oryx walk by in the far distance, and champagne and well-honed patter flows from one of the pilots as we are directed to tuck in, and if we wish to complain about his flying, his name is Eric. His name is not Eric. That is the boss, standing nearby, beaming. He should – he has an excellent ‘product’. Back at base, he tells us a bit more about his company, Namib Sky. There are no black balloonists on the roster, with prohibitive training costs put forward by Eric (most pilots in Europe train on corporate-sponsored balloons), but it is certainly true that the company funds a community trust and a local primary school, and provides extensive employment, with large crews supporting the ballooning. It is professional, slick, happy even, and also environmentally conscious. Ground crews stick to existing tracks with their vehicles and sweep the ground clear of traces after landing.

My family would do it again in a heartbeat. Me, I am glad to have done it, but can add it to bungee-jumping (or bungee-fainting, in my case) on the list of things which haven’t cured my fear of heights.