In October 2024, I did a hot-air balloon safari over the wildlife-studded plains of Kenya's Maasai Mara with a group of South African tourists. While it's noisy at times when the pilot fires the gas burners to keep the balloon in the air, the silences in between are truly special. It reminded me of a mokoro ride, where you don't have the distraction of a noisy motorised engine; just the sounds of nature. Likewise, in a balloon, you get to experience something of what a bird must feel like, a hundred or so metres above the ground, observing what lies below, listening and watching.
Although we saw wildebeest, topi (a local kind of hartebeest), Thompson's gazelle, elephant, lion, hippo and other game during our one-hour flight, the highlight was when…
