Day 31, Hot Air Balloon trip and George the grouper

We were picked up at 4 am for the 90 minute trip up to the tableland area at 1400 feet. This region was the heart of the tobacco growing area but taxes on it has converted the use to farming, fruit and vegetable  growing and  range land with lots of wild life to be found.  We got there before sunrise and watched the inflation process.  

Pre-dawn balloon inflation:

 About 6:15 with the sun just smearing the eastern sky, we climbed into baskets and the balloons drifted into the sky.   

Ready to go:

Departure zone from 1500 feet:

 When the propane torches are not burning there is almost no sense of lift or movement and no noise.  It's a little like sailing with the wind behind you - you are just going along for the ride.  The balloon reached about 3400 feet above sea level, 2000 feet above the ground.  One of the ladies was celebrating her 85th birthday with 3 friends; they were all having a grand time.  We saw a couple of kangaroos in the wild, as well as cows, horses, pigs and lots of mango trees. Our pilot was from SA and spent time in France doing wine country balloon trips.
 
After a gentle set down we all helped pack the balloon into a canvas bag and load it onto a trailer along with the basket for its return to the launch site and our trip back to Port Douglas.   

Landing zone:

Collapsing the balloon after a soft landing:

By noon we had finished the rest of the night’s sleep and were off to lunch.

We went to see George a very massive grouper who is fed at a local bar.  George was a no show, twice this week, word on the dock is that love is in the air/sea.

George’s dinner:

We had dinner and watched the last 10 minutes of the US vs Russia Rugby match - US won 6 to 13, very close score. 

Here’s one more picture of our reef boat from the day before’s snorkeling trip:

We stayed back with the hot tub while they snorkeled and balloon, of course with a nice glass of wine!