Friday 21st December - Christchurch (Balloon ride day!)

We are now back in Christchurch and many of you will probably have thought that at 3.45 a.m we would just be getting in from a night out but oh no NOT US the extreme travellers!! We got up and phoned the people from 'Up Up and Away' who advised us that today is a good flying day and to be ready in the hotel foyer for 4.40 a.m.! Armed with Pro Plus (well Sarah was!), we sat outside in the dark waiting for the lift. After a short ride on the coach, we arrived in a farmer's field and upset the sheep by bombarding their space with our group of 40 people, 2 balloons and 2 baskets! Nigel was our pilot and commander in chief for the day, he took an instant (dis)like to us when he heard we were from Milton Keynes, what with him being a fellow blighty. We were the butt of all his jokes for the rest of the morning. After splitting into 2 groups of 20, we all helped Nigel lay out the balloon and prepare for a trip of a lifetime! About 7am we took off in an effortless manner. Words can't describe the feeling of gently floating skyward. This was a phenonemal experience and we both loved it. We were airbourne for over an hour and met some really lovely people in the basket from all over the world. The landing was very smooth and we only brushed past the tree tops once! Upon landing, it is traditional to say an Irish Prayer and drink champagne which we all enjoyed before helping with the mammoth task of actually deflating the balloon and pack it into a miniscule covering! It reminded us of the pack-a-mack/sleeping bag packing trauma's we have had so far!! This has given us a sense of adventure (and our vertigo wasn't half as bad as we thought it was going to be! result!), who knows.. you may even see us sky diving at some point on our blog!

We would recommend anyone to have this experience and Up Up and Away were fantastic. The group of people on the trip ranged from elderly couples through to children so anyone can do it and have a great experience!