Taupo in the Springtime

But Wait There's More!

Just when you thought the organised side of Hot Air Ballooning in New Zealand had finished, a kindly promotions board organises a Nightglow to be held in the depths of winter. Not that we're complaining - there will be a small gathering of us at Taupo on Saturday August 16 to put on a bit of a show for the folks down by the big lake. Fingers, toes and everything else are crossed for the weather at the moment. We'll keep you posted.

Sunday AM: Final Packdown

Last day. Last flight. And as it turned out, last chance to get the cash as the junior Balloonmeister (they had run as a father and son team) decided to re-run the cash grab (not the organisers it should be noted). As it turned out the fluky conditions meant that still no one got near the target pole and instead made for wee dips in the lake before flying over to the Hamilton East area and landing.

Because of the rubbish Propane gas (actually it was probably LPG, a propane/butane mix) Denis had to drop a passenger today, which of course turned out to be me as I was the only one left who could drive the vehicle. Still, Elisabeth was on board to fly the Hamilton flag (and I know if it came to a choice I'd choose her over me as well) and taking some of her unusual snaps, like this one for instance.

The landing proved tricky in a funny sort of way as well, as the conditions were so light on the ground that it became difficult to get the balloon down without dropping it from the sky. Upon landing Denis declared that he was quite happy to be on the ground now, and despite the fact that I'd been on the deck that morning, I knew how he felt. It would be a hard thing to say you were sick of ballooning, but I guess we were tired, if not of it, then certainly from day after day of flying.

The frustrations of Wairarapa nearly three weeks before seemed a distant memory as we sat down for a farewell lunch and prizegiving. Even that was a bit of a hoot as Denis managed to buy a special shape balloon of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in the charity auction for $60. The plan: paint it up and use it as a static display (it has been decommissioned) at next year's Levin event. And I guess for this blog that will be the next phase, the beginnings of next year's events. It may come up as another blog, but I'll keep you posted. Until then, you're clear above, so fly on.

Saturday Night

Nightglows are a funny business for balloonists really. While it is a great thing for the crowd to watch, from a pilot and crew point of view they are a little, well, tedious basically. We get there mid-afternoon and have to be basically locked into the place while all the traffic arrives. We wait around, then semi-inflate while it's still daylight, then get it all up just after dark, burn for about 45 minutes then pull down and pack up in the dark, normally while the firework show is on. Ohh and ahh and it's all over. At least these days we get a decent nosh at the end (crew used to be locked out of the end-of-glow gatherings).

This year the glow worked fairly well, with just a few radio glitches and a dodgy character named Guido. Heaps of burning done, so subsequently lots of venting. I took over the burner from Denis after the condensation on the cow burner (the soft flame used for the best "glow" effect)caused the metal around the fitting to freeze, making it very uncomfortable to use. I had gloves on, so I took over. And we had fun co-ordinating the burns and all that stuff. Even with the gloves on, I had a dead little finger by the end of the glow because it had basically snap frozen.

I had a scan over the interweb for Nightglow images, and particularly of yours truly doing his thing on the burners. About the closest I came was this set of images, which despite being positioned very close to us, couldn't seem to get a decent exposure where you could see any detail of what was going on. We may be revelling in the digital age, but there are some very ordinary images out there folks. Back in my film days I'd have been there with a tripod and a B exposure to make sure I got a good shot...

No Balloons at Nightglow

Something a bit different as baskets without envelopes provided a musical respite for the other complete units.

Us at Nightglow in Hamilton

I'm in there somewhere. Marie comes up trumps with the photos again.

Tethered Rides

This was my only flying experience over the three weeks due to tricky flying conditions - tethered rides for the public shared with Daisy (Denis' daughter, also doing pilot training). This was mainly because we needed to clear the tanks of the poor quality gas we got from one of the refuelling points. It was all good, gave heaps of people of different ages a ride - except for the last group who only got about a ten-foot flight due to running out of gas halfway up on the rope. I'm the reason why the balloon is listing to the right in this photo.

Saturday Morning

It was Cash Grab time, where skillful flying allows you to pluck a bag of money off a pole, so everyone gets a bit serious about it. But this didn't mean we couldn't expose more people to the fun of flying. This time friends Rob and Natasha got to head for the lake, this time with a serious goal in mind. As it turned out, with the shifty conditions and without a lot of steerage, no one really got close to getting the cash, so like Denis and passengers they flew on to the northeastern suburban sprawl of Hamilton. Before, during and after the flight Natasha took heaps of photographs, which is something we really don't get a chance to do. So she has documented the whole event that is a flight quite nicely. So check out "The Anatomy of a Balloon Flight" in this slideshow.

Friday Night Parade

Denis decided, probably quite wisely, to take a break from the flying this evening, but we entered into the spirit of things by cruising down the main street of Hamilton firing off the burners at regular intervals in convoy with several other balloonists. All in the name of event promotion you'll understand. D had arranged for us to be towed by a convertible 80's Mercedes, so we all looked the part and I had furnished Jonty with a supply of water pistols, which, on reflection, may not have been such a hot idea. Daisy, Elisabeth myself and Jonty all took turns on the burners as we headed down the street. It was kind of weedy with the band and marching girls and stuff, but at the same time it was fun, I guess because it was something different.

After that we headed out to where I lived for a bit of a meal. I had had the notion that we might be able to do an inflate and have like a mini Nightglow with some folk from work invited, but it was so totally dark outside when we got out there that I just ended up doing the same as the parade and giving the burners a bit af a blast for the folks. Disappointing for them, but ah well, it would have meant more work for us.

Friday AM

Mangakino say the sponsors. Mangakino. two hours driving to a town where you can't fly because it's surrounded by lakes and mile upon mile of pine trees. With all apologies to Mangakino, the idea of getting out of bed at four in the morning to go and do a tethered flight in the middle of nowhere seemed more of a young man's game. So we didn't go. Note to said sponsor Mighty River Power: if you are going to sponsor an event, do just that - don't start dictating to the entrants that they have to take passengers every single day and then have to travel to far-flung spots (and some were seriously flung - like to Turangi, a full three hours down the island) with nary a petrol voucher in sight. Note to event organisers: send the locals who haven't travelled to get to the event and younger balloonists who are up to the early-morning travel to these distant spots. Turangi. For Pete's sake.

Anyways, having got alot of that grumble off our chest the previous evening, we ambled out to a launch spot with the intention of a lake fly-over and then on. Newby today was associate Sir Michael from Auckland, then Denis (obviously) Dave and Daisy, Lissie, and then I clambered in. Which left no one to drive, but that was okay, because it was a better day for flying than driving anyways.

We launched and flew in tandem with the Bransgroves in Remax, coming over the lake watching the eerie swirl of patterns on the water. As it turned out the last few feet above the lake was really hard to break through, but D slid it down and gently into the water - the soles of our feet were gently dampened.

Then we flew on through what were fairly flukey conditions. It become clear that we were going to need a sort of quick drop and glide for the landing and Denis chose the number two ground at Waikato Stadium. When you've flown with Denis so many times, you kind of take for granted his experience, but that landing just reminds you that he's been doing it for a long time and he's very good at it. The drop took us to the goal line at one end of the field, the glide then swept along its length, keeping the light standards to our right, and then with a final drop, mindful of the grounds staff pride in their pitch, plonked it down over the goal line like a showboating centre-threequarter with about the same impact. Not a skidmark in sight and handy enough to the posts for the conversion. Perfect.

Then Denis called a cab to go and get the vehicle, and I put a scorch in the scoop because I didn't turn off the pilot light before we pulled down. Doh! Kind of reminds ya who the experts really are.

Thursday Night Shuffle

Evening flights can be a funny business. It's usually a case of waiting for the wind to drop, but not so much that you're left hanging there, then hoping that you don't run out of daylight at the end. And that dropping wind can play some funny tricks. As it did in this case, with everyone taking off fairly well apart in time and distance and then all bunching up towards the end of the flight, with the unusual conditions funnelling everyone together and haing to do some fairly serious manoeuvring. Passengers on this flight were the ever-present Dave and Daisy (in Hamilton at least), workmate Kim and a chap I dragged that was standing around watching. Denis had wanted him to drive, but I gave him the ride anyways as I figured the retreive could get tricky, so I took the ground option.

And it did prove as tricky a retreive as the flight. As the balloons bunched up, they did so over one of Hamilton's main arterial routes in rush hour, with crews and other mad balloon chasers (who can be a real problem on a retreive) joining the frey.

So it was gridlock above and below. It was tedious on the ground, but quite exciting in the air - although the first-timers were blissfully unaware that this sort of traffic jam wasn't a normal part of the flight, particularly towards the end of it. Meanwhile, on the deck, even when it came time to land in the suburbs it was still a problem with the neighbours jumping in their cars (does anybody walk anymore?) and driving to the landing sites and choking up the back streets.

As it was Denis put down on a school playing field with three or four others and I missed them by a street and they'd already ripped out, but we were there to lend a hand in the final stages of the packdown amongst hordes of kids. Workmate Kim was buzzing. Turned out our unknown passenger was a plastic surgeon at the hospital - the favour of giving him a ride could come in handy when it comes time for that reconstruction...

Shadowland

Shadowland, originally uploaded by madballoonz.

Thursday AM Flight

Competition time, so everyone disappeared out to the south of Innes Common to catch the prevailing southerly wind. A park out Glenview way provided our launch site, flying newbies this time were my nephew Brett who had been helping out and had done a good job on the retreive from farmland the day before, my cousin-in-law Chris from Auckland, and a woman who was supposed to fly with us last night, but for obvious reasons didn't (see previous posting). Lissie and I followed on the ground. It became clear from takeoff that there was more left shift than previously thought and Denis promptly disappeared into the industrial wasteland of Kaihikatea Drive. A quick touchdown after a short flight and the decision was made to relaunch slightly further east to get the right angle back towards the lake. After a couple of false starts for launch sites we set up on a green patch and reinflated. During this time the dreaded wind came back up again and once again the decision was made to rip out. I guess it was disappointing for the first time fliers only getting twenty minutes in the air, but they had one good landing against the possibility of a very rugged one later on. After two set-ups and one and a half packdowns, how did I feel?

Exhausted, originally uploaded by madballoonz.

Evening Flight

The Wind was still up, but everyone got out on the field to set up. The wise heads (Denis included) had a look at what some of the pacesetters were doing on their inflations. One of the first up, an Australian, was struggling to keep the balloon on deck as the wind shifted around. He had the opportunity to rip out the top at any stage, but he proceeded to load a photographer and take off. Well, not so much take off as motor across the ground at about twelve feet off the deck. He didn't seem in any hurry to climb, or the wind from above was keeping him down, but he then proceeded to go clanging a scaffolding that was strategically placed in his path. Which would have been okay if he'd either climbed out of it or just ripped out there and then. Instead the dangling crown line hooked around the scaffolding and made the decision for him - he was coming down, but not on the safe side of the scaffolding. Instead he was spun on to the road side of the scaffolding and had to put down amongst parked cars and traffic. The local paper (whose photographer was on board) put a spin on it, saying it was a measure of his skill that he managed to land between two cars without any further damage. However, in my book, a true measure of his skill at the very beginning, while the basket was pirroetting about on the ground, with the balloon gyrating above it, would have been for him to not bow to the pressure of taking the pretty young blonde photographer for her first flight, ripping out and saying "Sorry guys it's too windy to fly". That would have been brave - not foolhardy.

Watching that unfold left that dry taste in the mouth. And after watching that, the mouth of our own envelope that had been pulled from the bag in preparation for the possibility of flying was packed firmly back in. So here's an image of better times, from the Mass Ascension this morning

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Hamilton, oh Hamilton, Biggest little city ina Noo Zealand

MassAssHam1, originally uploaded by madballoonz.

When the Mass Ascension rolls around, you kinda forget the wobbly wheels of the event organisation - the blood starts pumping as you work on inflating around thirty other balloons. Except there maybe weren't thirty balloons. And the conditions were a little breezy, so people didn't muck around on the ground, so therefore the "mass" part was lost from the ascension. Our biggest surprise was when a woman wandered up to us and announced she was riding with us this morning, as a treat from the sponsors. Great, thanks for telling us at the morning briefing organiser dudes. Anyway, it's kinda hard to argue the point when you're ready to roll, so we bundled her in.

And we trundled along, at a fairly good clip - a nearby pilot with all the gears clocked between 40 and 45 km/h, which in a balloon is moving along. Tricky little wind at Flagstaff started pushing us backwards, so rather than risk an awkward landing we headed for the country, where a highlight was being pursued by a hawk, watching the determined look on his face as he steadily beat after us thinking "man, if I bring this down I'll be eating for a month."

We lost him as we had to gain considerable height over power pylons (probably more than Denis was comfortable with). That combined with the windspeed meant this had the potential to be an interesting landing, but Denis dropped it with a double-hop and a twist on one corner and down - no drag. In fact I can't recall ever having a drag-landing with Denis and only one tipover in the five years I've been flying with him. I think this is mainly down to him making his decision on the landing before he even takes off, which is why those two pull-downs all that time ago in Masterton make sense. But more on that later.

Back in Hamiltown

Now I must admit that although the dating is for the day, this blog is being done in retrospect. Oh I tried to keep it up to date on the road, but the vagiaries of Public Libraries and other internet sources meant that a fair few of my posts disappeared into the ether (I see they have something now called "recover post" - translation: gee I hope I can get it back...). It has given me the opportunity to look back on the events of these past few weeks and find out if my initial feelings about the situation still held. This preamble is basically because the feeling I had back on this day has now been reflected in a bit of a bunfight in the local media.

Tuesday was registration day for Balloons Over Waikato - the premiere international event on the New Zealand ballooning calendar. Denis, as always, was going to be arriving late. he had been told that there was going to be no accomodation available, but one of the entrants had dropped out, so I was going to see if we could use his room when I went down to register as crew. But at the registration tent things seemed very chaotic. Entrants were arriving with no prior details about where they were staying, where to refuel, they were just finding out as they arrived. Those that were travelling later were literally in the dark about where they were headed.

At the Balloonists dinner that evening at the Waikato Stadium (which seemed an odd time to have it anyway, before the event actually began), there were basically a bunch of confused balloonists and it just had the feeling that the wheels were about to fall off. Y'know the sensation when the cart starts veering a bit and you're thinkin' "uh oh, this ain't right". The food was okay, although despite haggling with the organisers, I still wasn't sure if Denis had accomodation when he would finally arrive. So probably like many of the entrants I went to bed a bit concerned. Just what ya need with an early start the next morning.

Last Flight In Levin

Starting to recover from my flu and after all the running around on the ground, I must admit I had a serious urge to be in the air this morning. And Denis duly obliged by bundling me into the basket with a few others who had volunteered their time to the event. One such person was Daniel, who had done a marvellous job organising the volunteers into teams and setting them loose on the balloonists. He initially seemed keen to give his ride to others, but we finally got him into the basket. As we took off he was very quiet, and it wasn't until I turned to him after about 15 minutes in the air that he actually spoke and relaxed a bit. It was a strange wee flight. It was a lovely morning with a beautiful view up and down the coast and back to the ranges (I'm trying to track down photos), but there was very little wind, and what of it there was, was very close to the ground. It was an odd sensation of ascending into stillness, just sitting in the air going nowhere. The higher we went, the less we moved - in fact at one stage over the main highway we started drifting backwards. After the discussions pre-event with CAA, there did seem a certain irony in the safest flying being at the lowest altitude.

Welly Over Levin (Photos by Marie) Originally uploaded by madballoonz.

So the flight became a park-hop through Levin as we angled to reach the target line at the furthest park, swapping passengers and working the balloon around the parks on the ground to get the best angle. We figured as the organisers that if we couldn't win by fair means we would basically cheat. With the conditions so still we were eventually able to lead the balloon towards the line from the ground, until we were ransacked by one of the other crews who took exception to our nefarious methods. So we landed pretty close to the line and took kids young and old for tether flights to finish off what was a very special event. While it was great to be heading back to Hamilton and to sleeping in my own bed, as I cruised back up the North Island, I felt that I was leaving a little something behind in Levin - the possibility that a balloon event could be about fun for the participants and spectators, without a heavy corporate mentality breathing down their neck looking for a return.

Sunday Morning - On Target

It really did feel like the morning after following last night's successful Nightglow. But everyone stirred themselves for a spot of skill testing with a marker drop exercise. Being a pretty rough and ready event we didn't actually tell the pilots where the target was, but most managed to find their way somewhere close to the target - some very close (some had two goes tho'). Unfortunately another skill test was in the touchdown, as the wind picked up and gave a few some pretty hairy landings. All returned safely however, although some balloons (and balloonists) were sporting some minor damage that would need repair. No snaps as I was far too busy on the ground to take pics.

With the wind up and about, Sunday afternoon was a no-fly zone, except for Brian Boland, who launched one of his highly maneuverable sport balloons and headed for town at a great rate of knots. The rest of us just watched from the ground.

Setting The Night On Fire?

Saturday morning in Levin. And it's raining. steadily. Solidly. Suddenly we know how the Wairarapa organisers felt. Although the success of the event for balloonists did not hinge on the Nightglow, they are hugely important for the public and a way of generating revenue to cover all the work that had been done and also get the ball rolling for next year. A washout? It didn't bear thinking about.

As the day wore on (we didn't fly that morning) the rain stopped, but the wind continued. Early in the afternoon Denis was faced with making the call - pack it down or carry on. It basically got to a point where we had to carry on because everything was starting to roll anyway. As it turned out, the wind dropped we threw open the gates and waited for we didn't know what.

A few pilots flew out from the Showgrounds, the stallholders set up and the people started trickling in. The big difference with this Nightglow was that people were allowed to mingle amongst the balloons instead of being stuck miles away. We even half inflated an old 210 balloon (very large) and let people wander through it to check out what balloons actually were. Balloonists were saying the interaction was great and they were getting intelligent questions asked about their sport.

Pretty soon the trickle become a flood and as darkness fell people came through the gates in a rush. In fact we got a bit overwhelmed by it all. by 7pm the balloonists were ready to pull down, but the people were still coming through the gates. In the end we stopped charging for the last half hour or so and let people come in and check out the remains of the show. And it all turned into this big sort of party. Even after the pilots had had a meal and were heading home, people were still milling around enjoying the scene. Estimates put the crowd at 15,000. I think that was a little on the high side personally, but it wouldn't have been far short of that. A magic night.

Pre-Nightglow

Some interesting photos that I received recently from Levin were taken by Marie, who with other half Dan were in the Generation 4 balloon at the event. Some shots of something I missed due to organising other things was early on in the Nightglow and that was of Denis' old 210 balloon being cold-inflated on the ground and then people let loose inside. Such a simple idea but people really got a buzz out of it as for most it was the first time they were able to get really up-close to a hot-air balloon - and inside one to boot.

The Ol' 210 (Photos by Marie)

Playing around inside. Huge Fun.

The Ol' 210 (Photos by Marie)

Or creating your own window to have a look inside.

Later That Same Day...

After the Mass Ascension the wind lifted quite considerably. Just on sunset we gathered at a field expecting it to drop, with us spread out all over the show. I borrowed a small boy's bicycle to get from person to person and proceeded to destroy it, bending the rear wheel to some crazy angle (not before it had gained revenge by piching me headforth over the handlebars however). The wind did not drop and most of stayed groundbound. Two balloons inflated and flew. One was Brian Boland (naturally), while the other was one of NZ's World Championship representatives Mike Oakley, who with considerable skill launched and flew his balloon straight outta town, landing not too soon later, also on the beach. The rest of us stood back and admired the skills, then went and had Fish n Chips and Pizza.

Levin Levitates

Levin 05 Mass Ass 3
Originally uploaded by madballoonz.

Sorry, I have to stop doing those awful illiterations for titles. But here we are, 10 balloons airborne over Levin. That may not sound like many, but NZ's first fiesta in Hamilton had four balloons attend - so I think ten on the first morning is a pretty good effort. I heard the comment that the Mass Ascension somehow sounds religious and rude at the same time - I'm not going to say any more about that one. It was quite a tough time for the new crew volunteers who had not done any inflations before (our theory was how can you train crew when every pilot has variations on their inflation methods - teach 'em yourself on the job), but everyone came through admirably. Not all the balloons are in the photo (these are off my phone if they don't look the best, but it was all I had), but as Mass Ascensions go this one was pretty impressive, because all the balloons lifted off together and then bunched in the sky with a little nudging goin on(more pics at http://flickr.com/photos/madballoonz/sets/240808/), before gently sailing away to landing sites not too far away from one another on the northern edge of town. It was all good fun and jolly and somehow that much more special for being a part of making it happen. What was especially great was seeing the kids from Foxton still in their pajamas watching the sight of the balloons flying over in close formation heading for the countryside. I lost where they headed to, but was delighted to find out later that they had made their way to the landing site and had all posed in front of balloons and baskets and had a great old time. That makes it special. Also important was that Denis flew our major backers, the owner-operator of the Levin New World Supermarket and also the Mayor and his wife. Oh and Brian Boland flew to 7000 feet then landed on the beach. That's just cool.

Levin Is A Go (Almost..)

Levin Thursday 05
Originally uploaded by madballoonz.

After a busy day of organising this and that, our briefing time for the arriving balloonists was coming up fast. So what did we do? Went flying of course! Four of us who had arrived early gathered at a park on the edge of town and flew back across the city just on dusk.

This created a huge amount of interest with people jumping in their cars and tearing around after us. The other three balloonists landed in a large field on the other side of town. Denis flew on from the traffic jam and landed just as the wind dropped in a rather startled market gardner's car park. But it was all part of the fun and a great lead-up exercise.

This meant our "briefing" ended up being beer n nibbles (no hors de ouvres) and a friendly chat with everyone as they arrived in the evening. Things were definitely beginning to build...

Livin' In Levin

Well, it kinda felt like it anyways. After a brief rest in Wellington, it was back up the coast to Levin for the next four days to get into the nitty-gritty of organising our "own" Fiesta. This event was always aimed to be organised from the balloonists perspective, sponsors were being taken care of by a single balloon (Denis') to avoid putting pressure on pilots to have to fly other people apart from those they wanted to take. Balloonists were paid an amount relative to their participation (some could not make the whole event) and could then arrange their own feul and accomodation and food - so they could go luxury and burn it up, or go budget and come out with something at the end. having said that, we suddenly started to have a new-found respect for the professionals who organise the other events - even though they may not always know much about ballooning, the peripheral stuff takes up so much time and effort it is astounding.

In some ways we felt a little removed from it until the Tuesday night, when we had a meeting of volunteers and interested parties from the community, and suddenly it became very real. Here were a group of people working really hard to bring something special to what some have referred to as a dieing community. We even had our very own protester, who had written letters to the Council and CAA (Civil Aviation Authority - New Zealands regulating body) before before the event had even begun. this gentleman had set himself up as the spokesperson for the people of Levin, questioning the validity and safety of the event. Until now he had been the nagging voice of reason that you could almost believe, but after the meeting it became obvious that he was speaking for no one but himself.

We were also generating some media interest - although like much media interest these days it wasn't particularly well informed. If you check out the link you'll see that they have set an expectation by posting a picture of the two big lovely Buzzy Bee balloons - there was never any way we were going to afford to bring those two to the event. We had the local special shapes and that was going to be about it. To generate the interest in the town we took up local DJ Dave Key from More FM Horowhenua for a flight on the Wednesday morning. With a live radio link and a flight right over the town the effect was astounding and there seemed to be an almost electric atmosphere develop in the town. Could we come up to expectations?

Lift Off? Yaaaaayyyyy!!!

Finally, some air time. After much careful maneouvring to get us heading over the Key Grab target area - we missed completely. So we landed beside the lake, got a few bods to drag us around the shore a bit and tried again. And still missed. With balloons above us and below us it was certainly an interesting flight, but by no means a long one. Touchdown was safely and gently in a park. So at least we'd gotten something out of a frustrating week. We had been over to Levin a few times where our little event was taking place and had seen that the weather would have been good for flying when it wasn't so in Wairarapa. Would the tables turn the following week and rain on our parade? We'd find out soon enough. Meanwhile it was farewell to the other pilots and a reminder to those flying with us where and when to be there.

Lift Off? So close...

Lining up at Henley Lake in the early morning light, letting off pibald after pibald go to try and judge the wind, it became obvious that not everyone was going to fly today. So it proved, with a brave few taking to the conditions, including one pilot who took out a fairly substantial chunk of his envelope on a tree. While he was able to safely fly on, it did put a few off taking an early morning dip. After a bit of wandering around, Denis decided to inflate Welly. I was sceptical to say the least, but when the wind dropped during the inflation, I was beginning to think I should start calling him Nostrodenis for being able to pick the conditions. However, there was still too much wind up top, so once more we ripped out and packed away, agonisingly close today.

For the organisers it was a big fingers crossed for the Nightglow. This had to succeeed, otherwise they were staring down the barrel of a lost event. The weather cleared, the wind died and it was a successful event. Nightglows are a funny thing for Balloonists, it is quite a removed experience sitting on the ground firing the burners slightly off-cue and watching everyone else do the same, staring into the darkness where it was assumed there was a crowd. From a distance it must look marvellous, but close-up it's just hard work. But the organisers would have breathed a sigh, and all in it looked good (by the way, if you check the link, we're the balloon just to the left of the winking daisy).

Lift Off??!! Arrrggghhhh!!!

The April Fool was on us this morning as we trudged out of Masterton in the darkness to Martinborough - a town so enamoured with the empire that the founding colonists laid the streets out in the shape of a Union Jack. The flood waters had receded enough for us to actually reach the town, but it was nothing but greay skies that greeted us there. In misty and then rainy conditions, some balloonists braved the elements to at least give the folk something to see. The Wairarapa Times-Age gets it about right with this one.

Having trudged back to Masterton by about midday, it became obvious that the weather was clearing ever so slightly, and Denis the pilot decided that we would do an inflate on the lawn of the Copthorne Hotel, as we were starting to get a little buggy with the lack of flying. So the inflation went ahead and we managed to get everything upright. Suddenly the sponsors appeared, as they were desparately looking for a return on their investment, so I guess they figured a ride was the least they could expect. Then along came some serious wind and started knocking us about, to the point where the basket was tipped over. It became obvious as we dragged sponsors back to the vertical that we were not going to fly in these conditions, so we ripped out and put it all away again, mildly dispondent. Funny thing was that about thirty minutes later the wind settled and a couple of other balloons took off carting aforementioned sponsors. Denis the Pilot headed to Levin for more organizing over there, while I, having felt like I had already done a day's work, headed off for a bit of rest.

I was awakened late in the afternoon by the roar of engines passing the door of our room. Everyone was off for a flight, and grabbing the chance with both hands as it could well have been their last. With no way of getting our balloon to the site (and no pilot) I tagged along and helped out a couple of other crews get airbourne. And at least there was finally something to smile about for the Wairarapa event. It was quite a buzz.

Lift Off? Not

Well, we can't say we didn't try. It was obvious that we weren't going to fly first thing in the morning with the weather the way it was, but there was hope for the afternoon. This turned out to be a no go as well, so Denis and I headed to Levin to do some more sorting for the event to be held there next week. This in itself was a bit of fun as Denis is a very gregarious character who can keep you amused and alternately terrified for hours with his conversation and driving.

Lift Off (Still Not Quite)

As predicted in the last entry, the weather has proved to be the winner on the day, just dropping from the sky at very regular intervals. It was looking ominous on the drive down yesterday and set in just after coming through Eketahuna (find that one on the map). So this morning's Mass Ascension became a Mass Depression - not really, because balloonists take the weather in their stride, it's all part of the sport. The forecast is for clearing, so meanwhile it is an opportunity to enjoy the delights of Masterton on a rainy afternoon. Hmmm. I think a movie may be on the cards.

Lift Off (Almost)

The time has crept closer. Since my last (and first) blog back in January things have definitely firmed up on the ballooning front - although we don't really like fronts as they can cause havoc with a flight. First thing out of the way was getting time off to pursue three weeks of madness. Having got that confirmed I have had to work my way through the last few weeks of mayhem, but with the goal of March 30 in my sights. Now it is just a day and a bit away. Tomorrow will be for travelling down to the Wairarapa and linking up with my pilot, ready for an early morning mass ascension on the Wednesday morning. Problem is the weather is looking a little scruffy - Easter in NZ is normally pretty patchy weather-wise, so it should be no surprise that it will continue in the week following. But that's all part of the ballooning life - you just have to live with it.

Details of the secret mini-event between the two main NZ ballooning events is firming up. This is to be held in Levin starting April 7 and running through until Monday 11, or even possibly Tuesday 12. As you may have gathered from that itinerary, this event will be a laid-back affair more in keeping with general nature of NZ sport pilot's leisurely nature. There will be a Nightglow organised for Saturday April 8 (I think) with at least 15 balloons participating. Watch this blog for more details.

If you are out and about at the Wairarapa, Waikato or even the Levin event, keep an eye out for us in the Absolutely Positively Wellington balloon. If you want to say high, I'll probably be the one holding onto the rope. If you want to know what I'm doing, ask Auntie Buhabs.

Lift Off

This blog has been started to take in the Hot Air Ballooning season in New Zealand - three weeks of chaos and mayhem throughout the North Island. This road (and air) trip will be seen through the eyes and ears of a slightly demented crewie who has the ambition to be a pilot (I've done it twice so far - total time in control of about three hours), but not the wherewithall (y'know, the money). So these three weeks just post-Easter are a chance to live the dream for another year. If you are interested in catching up with the events they start in the Wairarapa just north of Wellington and end in the Waikato, based in Hamilton - keep an eye out for the Wellington balloon. In between these two events is a one week window which will be filled with yet more flying and fun - I'll keep you posted on the location of that one.

First stumbling block is going to be getting the time off work as it is smack in the middle of our busy time. I'm at the boss' mercy at the moment, so I'm sucking up big time. Once I get images sussed I'll have some pics of past events up.