From Panic to Peace on a Sunrise Balloon Safari in the Serengeti
- Globe-Trotting Addicts
- 2 minutes ago
- 4 min read
We departed the Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge at 4:30 a.m.—well before sunrise. An escort was required to walk us from our room, just in case any wildlife lurked nearby. Lions and hyenas, after all, don’t recognize hotel boundaries—and can be extremely dangerous. I asked our escort if he'd seen anything on patrol overnight. “Cape buffalo were using the pool as a watering hole a short time ago,” he said casually. Unbelievable.
Inside the main lodge, we met our driver. Despite the hour, our adrenaline was at its highest. We climbed into the safari van waiting for us, joined by a few other guests; the only time our safari wasn’t private during our trip.
Staying in the Serengeti feels like being in the middle of the world—and the middle of nowhere—all at once. But that morning, we drove an hour and forty minutes to reach what felt like the actual middle of nowhere—the true definition.
As we bumped along in the pre-dawn dark, something incredible happened—the elusive leopard. It sauntered down the dirt road right in front of us. We’d been searching for one for days, always hoping for a glimpse of this famously hard-to-spot cat, affectionately pronounced lee-o-pard in Tanzania. And there it was, finally, in the wild, in the dark.
We arrived at the balloon launch site still in the dark. The team was already at work, prepping for takeoff and reviewing safety checks. We were divided into groups, each balloon holding about 11 or 12 passengers. Our pilot was a Turkish man in his 60s who usually flies in Cappadocia but was freelancing in Tanzania for the safari season. Knowing he regularly pilots balloons in one of the world’s most famous flight zones gave me a brief sense of calm.
Then came the safety briefing.
Our captain explained how we would climb into the basket, lie on our backs, raise our legs into the air in a bent position, and then stand. “Everyone understand?” he asked.
“No,” I said immediately. “Can you repeat that?”
He did—word for word—and somehow it still didn’t make sense to me. Lie how? Legs where? Stand up when? My mind went blank, and panic set in fast. I realized at that moment that I had zero interest in doing this hot air balloon ride. I wanted out. But the thing is… there’s no “out” when you’re 90 minutes from the nearest hotel, in the dark, surrounded by nothing but savannah…and wild animals you can’t see but know are there. I had no choice. I had to go ahead.
The tears started quietly but turned into full sobs. Completely terrified, I walked toward the basket just as the sky began to glow with the first colors of dawn. We climbed to the second level, lay on our backs, and rested our legs on a shelf. And... it was fine. Not terrifying at all. Once I was clipped into the harness, I started to settle down—just a bit.
The unmistakable roar of the gas burner began, and the balloon started to inflate. Within moments, the basket tipped upright, and we slowly lifted off the ground.
Once we were airborne, something changed.
Silence.
No one spoke. Couples held hands or exchanged quiet kisses, but the hush in the air was palpable. Floating over the Serengeti, watching the sunrise stretch across the endless plains, is something I’ll never forget. There’s a stillness that settles deep inside you—a peace that resonates through your bones.
We scanned the landscape for animals, spotting a crash of rhinos bathing in a riverbed far below.
It was quite possibly the fastest hour of my life, and before we knew it, we were preparing for our descent. We sat down as the pilot released hot air, gently guiding us toward the earth. While we were mid-flight, the team surveyed a landing spot to ensure no lions or other predators were hiding in the brush. The basket landed softly in waist-high grass in a remote expanse of the Serengeti that redefined the phrase “as far as the eye could see.”
Once we climbed out of the basket, we were handed glasses of champagne to toast the flight and the dawn of the new day.
Sipping champagne in the grasslands of the Serengeti now lives in my memory as one of the most unforgettable sunrise moments of my life. Perhaps remove the quantifier of sunrise — now lives in my memory as one of the most unforgettable moments of my life. Period.
If a sunrise balloon safari in the Serengeti is on your bucket list—or even if it isn’t—consider this your sign to do it. We flew with Serengeti Balloon Safaris, and I can’t imagine a better way to see the Serengeti from above. If you’ve done it, or if it’s on your radar, drop me a line—I’d love to hear about your experience.
February 2024 Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
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