Up in a hot air balloon with Aitch high over Sossusvlei in the Namib desert. Up in the pre-dawn, we go and fetch the sun from where he’s snuggling, reluctant to get out of bed. Beautiful to see a sunrise while the ground below you is still in darkness. Later the sun actually rises for the earthlings below us and the trees start throwing lo-ong shadows. A 10m tree has a 200m shadow on the sand. We rise high, then sink down till we’re zooming at treetop level, then soar up again till the trees are little specks and only a dust trail shows where the ground crew is chasing after us, estimating where we’ll land. The intermittent roar of the gas flame is harsh, making the silence between bursts even more special and serene.
We land and our swashbuckling pirate-pilot smacks the head off a champagne bottle with his sabre. Bubbly and breakfast in the cool early morning standing around a table decked with a pretty tablecloth.
Desert Theatre!
~~~oo0oo~~~
Bewilderbeast Droppings 