Happy Balloon Birthday Rick! :)

Today is DH Rick's birthday, so we decided to have a ride in a hot air balloon to celebrate. We woke up at 4am, had coffee and got organised, drove off at 5am to be in Mareeba, 30kms away, by 5.30am. We met up with the balloon team at the Mareeba Heritage Museum, then taken by bus to the launch site, where 4 balloons were being readied for flight. I am not good with heights, so was a bit nervous; unnecessarily so as it turned out. The flight was great; I actually leaned over the edge of the basket to watch the view. Ahhhhhhh, so peaceful, except for the times the pilot fired up the gas thingys.

Picture below is one of the balloons being fired up. Click on photos for a larger view.
We were being followed. The bright green area is a sugar cane field.

The Barron River.

We are still being followed.

We watched the sun rise over the mountains. Lovely.

Mist on the ground The morning sun made a golden glow over the landscape. We landed in a paddock, and the pilot tipped the basket on its side with all of us in it, so we ended up on our backs and had to scramble awkwardly out, laughing.

We were then put to work helping expel the air and fold this huge thing. Back on the bus to the Heritage Museum for a cooked breakfast. The crew made Rick a birthday cake from a stack of pancakes decorated with chocolate and raspberry syrups, with 2 candles on top. We all sang happy birthday to him. Pity the battery went flat in the video camera.

We really enjoyed the ride, and the pilot and his crew were great. If you are ever in Far North Queensland, have a hot air balloon ride with the Raging Thunder team.

Photo below is me, Rick and Ann. (Rick's sister)