Canberra Balloon Spectacular 2015

Roar!

Tongues of flame lap the air with a loud noise, as the balloon crews begin preparation for today’s events.

It is still dark at 5:45am and people are flocking to the lawns of Old Parliament House in Canberra to watch the Balloon Spectacular. Stadium-like spotlights guide everyone to the main set up area.

A slight breeze caresses the skin and flurries the hair. It causes goosebumps to rise on my arms, and the hairs on the back of my neck to rise.

Everybody is rugged up in their coats, scarves and beanies. Youngsters appear to struggle as they take steps. They are top-heavy with the layers they are wearing under their parkers. To accommodate this, it looks like they grip firmly to their parents’ hand, lean back, and totter with small padded footsteps along the way. Nonetheless, they don’t seem to care; they are too absorbed by what is happening all around them. The noise and movement of the hot-air balloons, and the buzz of people completely captivated by them.

As I’m walking down the stone steps that lead to the open lawns, I hear a child behind me exclaim, “I can’t wait to have my breakfast here!” to his mother. He must have been three- or four-years-old, going by the sound of his squeaky, high pitched. It made me chuckle — he is hungry and ready to eat, yet not one balloon is aloft yet. The excitement for the little ones fills me with joy as I remember going to this festival when I was a child myself. The Balloon Spectacular is celebrating its 29^th year.

People sit on ledges nearby and observe the crew members working hard to prepare their balloons. The workers steadily and carefully lower the large wicker balloon baskets onto the side, then place a fan in front and roll the large, material balloons out along the dewy grass.

The brilliantly coloured hot-air balloons are lined up on several open lawns between Old Parliament House and Lake Burley Griffin. I hear shouted exchanges from the crew members and balloon owners as they try to lift the baskets, ignite the burners, and attach the ropes. They are on a busy schedule and it’s only a matter of time before dawn breaks and the sun begins to kiss the clouds.

Roar!!

ROAARR!

The hot-air balloon crews test the burners, on both the blue flame and on the yellow flame. The noise of them sounds like a jet plane as it soars across the sky. I notice a girl around the age of six or seven, yelling “FIRE!” but pronouncing it more like “FY-YAAA!” in a scary voice, and waving her arms dramatically at her twin baby siblings strapped in a double-seated pram. Their eyes widen in fright, while they lay there helplessly. The roar of the burners comes from every direction.

As the fan forces air into the balloons, they change from lifeless sheets of material to shapes that ebb and flow.

When the balloons are not even halfway inflated, the shape they form makes them look like giant beached whales. The shape of the inflated part is bigger at the top, and it droops down to the tail end, where the fan is noisily blasting air and sounds like a whipper snipper cutting grass.

It is still dark at 6:30am and spotlights shine on the balloons. When spectators walk past or stand near them, their silhouettes are captivating and remarkably fascinating to watch. I see little children holding their parents’ hands, and couples wrapped up in each other’s arms.

Crowds of people stand around the balloons which are almost fully inflated and now standing upright. As the hot air and flames are erupting into the huge balloon envelope, people’s faces light up for a few seconds with the radiance of the blaze. The flame quickly snaps off like a light, but I constantly hear the noise of the large fans pumping air into the other balloons.

At 6:40am here are two fully inflated balloons standing in the distance. A yellow SunSmart-sponsored balloon, and a red-and-yellow-chequered balloon, ready to take off into the overcast sky which is lightening as the sun slowly creeps over the horizon.

I turn around and see a man wearing a cream-coloured cap, forcefully pulling a rope which is attached to the top of a rainbow-coloured hot-air balloon. It is almost fully inflated but still lying on its side. Within a few minutes, the balloon slowly rises up toward the sky and the team of workers tilt the basket upright. The man holding onto the rope is being pulled in, and two very long bursts of flame are jetted from the burner into the envelope of the balloon, sending it skyward.

Before I know it, almost all the balloons around me are fully inflated and being lifted to an upright position with the help of the flames. I’ve never stood amongst hot-air balloons like this before, and it’s a surreal experience to look up and have them swaying gracefully above me. Additionally, there is a breathtaking backdrop of the sun rising and Telstra tower, Canberra’s iconic telecommunications tower standing proudly on Black Mountain.

The crew members’ station wagons, four-wheel drives and utes are parked not far from where the balloons are being set up. I read one of the stickers on the back of a trailer that says in red capital letters “BALLOON CHASE CREW”. They obviously take their balloon chasing very seriously.

“We’re a flying family, dog included,” laughs hot-air balloon owner, Danny Galbraith. “And these are the next pilot generation” he says, pointing to four children running around each other. “The grandkids. So, it’ll be three generations in another ten years.”

Danny is a tall, very Australian-sounding, grey-haired man with deep wrinkles around his eyes. He looks like he has spent a lot of time in the sun. He expresses his enjoyment of flying and travelling with hot-air balloons.

“After the Canberra festival here, we’ll go out to Leeton for four days over Easter; we’ll then do a week in Canowindra,” he says. “In May we’re going to Alice Springs to fly single backpack hopper chairs, like that one over there!”

He points to a red coloured balloon, with one man dangling where you would normally see the wicker basket.

“He’s sitting on a little swing seat.”

After discovering that Danny does competitive flying, I ask if he has ever flown the balloons professionally.

“Nah, nah. Never wanted to ruin a good sport,” he answers.”

And with that we said our goodbyes. Danny had to leave, as his daughter’s privately-owned Capital Chemist hot-air balloon was taking off, with his son flying it.

The Royal Australian Air Force balloon then caught my attention. The military-dressed crew members were running around and were just about to let it lift off into the sky to join the other balloons drifting over the capital.

“It’s the RAAF balloons 25^th anniversary this year,” explains Pat Feary who is an ex- air force, balloon volunteer. “It’s based here in Canberra, and goes out into the country for different events and shows probably every two or three weeks.”

Pat is dressed in his khaki-coloured military uniform, and wears a black air force cap. While I am talking to him about the RAAF hot-air balloon, we are watching all the different balloons floating in the sky. They are scattered through the air, all at different heights. The sky is much lighter now. The spotlights that were the only source of light before have now been switched off.

Three other air force crew members in uniform huddle in closer to Pat and myself to form a circle and listen carefully to the conversation. It’s hard to hear each other speak, and we have to raise our voices over the noise of people talking, children yelling, and the burners of the balloons close by.

Pat explains that the balloon has been to Darwin, Tasmania, Perth, Queensland and the Northern Territory.

“It did Arnhem Land too!” interrupts one of the other crew members, who then goes on to say “there’s a big balloon festival in New Mexico, has it been there?” To which Pat answers bluntly, “no it hasn’t gone to that one, nup.”

“Well when I first started there was a promise of New Mexico. That’s what hooked me in,” laughs the man who interrupted before. His name is Jeff Addinsall, and he can talk the leg off a chair. He wears the same khaki uniform as Pat, as well as a dark coloured beanie, with fur lined ear flaps which he buttons to the top of the hat. He has a good sense of humour, and an endless array of stories to tell.

Jeff explains that the people who organise the Canberra Balloon Spectacular have a different task or game each day.

“Today’s challenge is to chase that balloon” he says, pointing to a yellow hot-air balloon in the sky. “Whoever lands the closest to that balloon wins … it’s called the Fox and the Hound.”

Each Royal Australian Air Force hot-air balloon pilot must be a full time air force pilot of a fast jet or a helicopter. The pilots each receive a three year posting to be the hot-air balloon pilot.

“The guys that do it, they end up loving it. But when they first get it they’re like ‘RAAF balloon? Are you kidding me? I’m a fast jet pilot.’” Jeff says, imitating disdain.

He tells me a story about how his wife was going to the hairdressers one day and a balloon landed on a house. He said it slid off the roof and landed in the garden, and the canopy of the balloon was stretched across the road. His wife helped the pilot move it so it wasn’t blocking traffic.

“Normally these guys will know where the winds are going, and they’ll see a green patch in the suburb.”

As Jeff tells the story and explains features of the balloons, he uses large hand gestures, and it is easy to see that he is passionate about hot-air ballooning.

“They try not to make much noise,” he says. “There are two different types of burners: One is called the cow burner, because it’s not as loud and doesn’t scare the cows. And then the other one, when you’re in the open that’s the big noisy one — it puts a lot more heat in a lot quicker. That one is pressurised. They have different levels of noise for the suburbs.”

Even when the balloons seem a fair distance away from where I’m standing, I can still see flickers of flame from the burners. Imagine what it would be like up there, looking down on a lovely panorama of Canberra and its stunning monuments.

Jeff describes how some of the affluent, leafy suburbs of Canberra do not appreciate the Balloon Spectacular festival.

“Some people are very unhappy with a balloon flying over their house and making noise to put heat into the canopy.”

My stomach makes a growling noise and I know it’s time to find some breakfast, sit somewhere comfortable, and watch the balloons sail in the breeze.

I walk by the emptied pond towards a large white food tent, similar to the marquees people sometimes have at weddings. It is filled with people staying out of the cool, crisp air. Opposite that marquee there are multiple smaller stalls set up selling bacon and eggs, Dutch pancakes and fresh juices. The smell of the hot food is strong and enticing.

The lines to purchase breakfast are long. People are scattered around the marquee on plastic chairs and tables, eating off disposable paper plates. Parents and grandparents set up picnic rugs on the grassy field and eat with their children. A happy vibe dominates the atmosphere, and the queue for Dutch pancakes is worth the wait.

Driving home, the day is bright and all the clouds are cleared. It’s a beautiful sight to see around 45 hot-air balloons peppered through the sky.

So, another year over for the Canberra Balloon Spectacular, but it’s not all bad for us Canberrans. We are lucky enough to be able to see balloons suspended on any clear-sky day of the year.

Story, images and video footage by Alison Hattley