Bendigo Ballooning Victoria Australia

Ballooning is one of life’s loveliest experiences. The joy of it almost defies description. Noisy one moment, quiet the next, ever changing, never dull. It’s exhilarating and yet so romantic. Far from the madding crowd, ballooning is as much at home in central Victoria today as it would have been in Hardy’s gentle, pastoral England. Flights last about an hour. Memory of it will last your lifetime. Most flights are done in the early morning, so we usually meet before dawn, rig the balloons in the half light, and launch as the sun comes up. Meeting the sun as it peeps over the horizon is just one of the great joys of ballooning. Don’t be deterred though if low cloud and mist conspire to hide it. Such conditions can be truly lovely. Imagine talking and joking sometimes with people on the ground, seeing wildlife close-up, ‘leaf-picking’, and high-flying for uninterrupted all-round views. Apart from perhaps a little rocking and rolling before take-off, your flight will be smooth and you won’t get air-sick – guaranteed. Although we fly all year round, our strike rate is better in autumn and winter. Generally, we stay on the ground if the wind speed at launch time is 15 kilometres per hour or more, and/or if the minimum overnight temperature is above 15 degrees celsius. Optimum conditions are a fine, frosty morning with winds of 10 kilometres per hour or less on the ground. Our main operations area is the Golden Triangle of central Victoria. Most flights are done over Bendigo and the surrounding forest, and end in the hills and paddocks beyond. Sometimes we fly over Ballarat, and in the Grampians and Pyrenees. We also welcome enquiries for ‘farm-storming’ flights for groups of 8 or more almost anywhere within 2 hours drive of Bendigo.