Wairarapa Festival Day Two Morning

The evening of Day One, a fly-out from the Gala at Wairarapa College, was a no-go, because as the day went on the wind picked up, making flying impossible. Waiting at the venue, when the wind dropped, the rain started and that sent us all scurrying for cover. We did later enjoy the hospitality of one of the locals at their fantastic house that seemed ideally suited to catering to a bunch of balloonists for an informal gathering/dinner/party. On the return home we could tell the sky was clearing, so were reasonably confident of a flying morning on Saturday. This turned out to be the case, with the hint of a box wind at Henley Lake allowing some balloonists a couple of cracks at the targets on and beside the lake. It didn't start off all that well, when, with passengers loaded we were awaiting lift-off, when another balloon that had already launched flew over from behind us - a not uncommon thing in this sort of event where launch times vary as pilots try different strategies. However, we were greeted by the very worrying sight of the bottom of the basket of the said balloon brushing the top of our envelope. This creates that sick feeling of a potential disaster unfolding - one edge catches and it was all over for our balloon. There wasn't a lot of shouting and arm waving going on, because that would have done nothing to change the situation. We just had to wait it out. Then, when it had passed, we breathed out and scanned every inch of the top of the balloon very carefully. All seemed well, so they were off towards the lake. Denis dropped it in for a gentle slide along the water - wish I had been close enough for photos, but the close proximity of the launchsite didn't really give us enough time to get lakeside for a closer look. But as an indicator of how good the flying was, check out Brenda Anderson's Flickr photos - all good stuff really. With the either-way steerage, we were then placed in a position of scratching our heads as chase crew as to which side of the main river we should be on. When Denis dropped down low, it looked to us as if he was actually on the river, so this made for a tricky choice, especially in a flat town like Masterton (yes, they were flying closer to the main town this time, and with the potential to gain a bigger crowd on a Saturday morning. Point noted). So a hint for all you budding balloon crewers in the Wairarapa: if you are having trouble finding your balloon, the highest point in town that affords a very good panoramic view is... on top of the rubbish dump. I don't want to know what was under our feet, but it was solid enough to drive up there and gave us a great view as our balloon sailed straight over, allowing for a crystal-clear analogue ground to air communication as to where the landing site would be. Translation: Denis told us he (or rather Jonty who was piloting at that stage) would be landing in the next paddock.


And that's where he landed. The flight ended as strangely as it had begun, with a one-sided encounter with a woman with four dogs (actually three dogs minus one), who was very upset that one of the dogs had bolted for home. But her manner was that of a dog itself - when I approached her she snapped and snarled obscenities without making eye contact and veering off course in the manner of the aggressive/frightened dog when I walked towards her to communicate with her and find out what the problem actually was. A case of the owner adopting the habits of the animal? Funny thing was the other three dogs seemed very pleased to see us and enjoyed a bit of a run around and some attention no end, until called over by their snarling "master" or "head dog". A weird end to bookend a very weird start, with a lovely flight in between. That's ballooning for ya. Weird.