Floating gracefully into 2015

Well folks Happy New Year!
Our much needed break has come to an end and I must say that Cairns and the surrounding areas have been a tonic for this tired and worn out land gal.
So many highlights and so many things to share.

When you have a long held dream and it finally becomes a reality it boosts your spirit..gives you that much needed lift and when I say lift I mean lift!

Many moons ago I was terrified of flying, quite literally would break out in sweats at the thought.
Gradually I became less scared as I realised the end of a plane trip meant a vacation!

I love flying now, the sensation of power and the feeling of looking down on the world from a different perspective.

So much of what I photograph is from lying on the ground of our property..maybe climbing trees to capture shots of roos or birds at eye height.

I still find myself staring skywards..looking for that Wedge-tail Eagle and soaring with him as he surveys us from above, the whole time I now find myself soaring with him as he catches the thermals and effortlessly covers the acreage in minutes…I have envied that power and grace.

When we arrived in Palm Cove I saw the brochures for http://www.hotair.com.au/cairns/
Now Hubby has never been afraid of flying but Hot Air Balloons …well that was a different thing!
Kudos to him he wanted to be with me when I took a flight.
So 3.30am we got up on the 30th of December and off we headed..
We were picked up by Merv the coach driver, a guy who despite the early hour was full of smiles and also a great guy to chat to, Merv was a great source of info and straight away I knew we had chosen an awesome company to fly with.
We arrived at the site and I was so excited..the sky was still hiding most of her glorious colours and balloons were in different stages of inflation ..awesome!

I was busting to get out and start snapping away and toting a vast array of lenses I was in danger of becoming a hunchback! my big boy lens Brutus was ready to roll!

Ground crew were just as great as Merv and sadly I cannot remember any names as I was in a Photographers Buzz…the sound of the gas jets blasting the smell of crisp air and the chance I had been waiting for for so long!

We were all briefed on the way to enter and exit the basket safely and it was clear concise and incredibly simple..it was wonderful to see grandparents with their grandchildren, young couples and families and even middle aged thrill seekers such as moi 🙂

You know I have to say I was feeling more like a kid in a lolly shop.Hubby looked a bit apprehensive but luckily he chilled pretty quickly as I kept the poor guy busy passing me lenses for my camera.

All I can say is WOW…I cannot believe how graceful and calm the whole flight was. Being carried with the thermals like those Wedge-tail Eagles and feeling a freedom and tranquillity my soul badly needed after such a frantic few years on the rocky ground we call home.

I am a girl that loves the environment..you all know I love nature and the beauty I see around me. Anyone who follows my bloggies knows this is what makes me tick.
This has just opened a whole new love for me, to see the clouds gently touching the mountains and the sun waking up to throw her colours around the landscape ..breathtaking! and at the same time to be able to look below at the landscape in all it’s glory..patchwork farm lands of varying crops, and I know the work that has gone in to those farms…if only they could see what I saw maybe they would have a new perspective too.

The day ended as gently as it started..and an hour of my life had been lifted to a place I must go again..

I will leave you all with some pictures of our morning, we have arrived home exhausted and I hope after the next few extreme fire danger days to be back to some regular blogging and catching up……yep again I am behind…same old me 😉 …

 

• Cairns
• holidays
• Hot air Cairns
• travel