This annual event in Wairarapa sounds like a fun volunteer opportunity even though I had no idea what they want volunteers to do. Caleb gave me a ride to 20 Essex St for my morning briefing as he was also going to report on the event for the papers that day. After meeting up with the crew I was assigned to, we set off together in the pilot's vehicle to Pioneer Sportsgrounds to prepare for the mass ascension.


I look forward to this because it's so cold in the morning


The basket was unloaded first. Sue and I tied the sponsor boards onto the basket. It was then laid gently on the ground to prepare for inflation.


I was tasked to stand by the big fan and switch it off when instructed to do so. When sufficient hot air has been blown into the balloon, I switched off the fan and the balloon is lifted upright. Dennis the pilot continued to blast hot air upwards into the envelope and the rest of the crew had to lean on the basket to prevent it from drifting away.


Great weather for take off


Off they go!


Majority of the balloons started to lift off the ground except for the big ones. Sue and I were the chase crew and she managed to locate the balloon along East Taratahi Road.


Packing away balloon


There was a demo in the afternoon for the public to get a hands on experience


"Squeeze the air out and hold it tight under your armpit!"


The kids formed a line and helped to pack the balloon away.


Day 2 of the Balloon Fiesta kicked off at Carrington Park in Carterton today. We have an additional member to the crew - John from Carterton. The other balloons already had their burners up and we quickly got down to work, unloaded all the equipment from the trailer and put the poles up onto the burner.


I was the fan tender again. I don't like it because my hands get numb and cold from the strong vibration of the fan. As we were pretty close to the other balloons, we had to wait awhile for the rest of the balloons to drift away before taking off. Hamilton was the first one to go and it floated off in a completely different direction as everyone else haha!


I was surprised and really excited when the pilot asked me to jump on this flight. I never thought I would get on a hot air balloon again after Cairns. It feels awesome to be part of the team and event; to be able to fly in a balloon you helped to set up and inflate. It's a completely different experience as compared to being on a commercial flight.


Getting ready to lift off


As we got lighter, our basket started to lift off the ground. I started to feel scared as we gained altitude as I'm afraid of heights.


The view was so much better than what I saw in Cairns. The sky was clear, the sun was up and we were flying alongside many other colourful balloons with the Taruarua Ranges in the backdrop.


Space Shuttle on the left is the world's tallest hot air balloon still inflating


WOOHOOOOOOOOOO


A few balloons have started to land. Some of those which had landed decided to take off again maybe because their chase crew had difficulty getting to the paddock they had landed on.


Flying over Carterton


Big paddocks clear of animals, water, fences and power lines are good landing sites. Dennis decided to let the bottom of our basket brush past the top of the trees to slow us down and we glided gently onto the grass upright! Wonderful landing!


While waiting for the chase crew to reach us, we watched and laughed at Remax do a pendulum landing (basket swinging from side to side)


While squeezing the air out of the balloon with our hands, I spotted a hole in the envelope! Dennis fixed it with a sticky tape.


Free breakfast at Wild Oats with the crew after a successful flight. This was better than yesterday's breakfast because I get to drink a cuppa coffee!


A few days later we were woken up by short blasting sounds and went outside the house to find a balloon had landed in our neighbourhood!