This message was originally from March 21, 2026
Going on an African safari is one of those bucket list items that many have on their lifelong to-do lists and only a handful get to experience. I often look at my life and think, how have I been able to go on safari after safari? I feel absolutely grateful and incredibly lucky and blessed. Each time I get into that rugged vehicle at the crack of dawn, the energy inside of me is palpable with excitement and wonder of what I am about to see that day. It NEVER gets old and seeing the majestic wildlife of Africa is nothing short of spectacular!
Before booking our Kenyan trip we saw that an optional activity that we could book over and above the tour was a balloon ride over the Maasai Mara. The price tag was definitely a tad over what we were comfortable with, however both Liza and I both knew that this could be a once in a lifetime opportunity. We knew that this was something we HAD to do and after getting over the sucker punch of paying off the credit card, we couldn’t have been more excited.
Now let me tell you about a day for the memory books…
In order to be ready to take off at sunrise we had to be picked up at 4:30am. Our driver picked us up and we bounced around in the jeep through the darkness for a good hour before reaching the launch point. While driving in the dark you could see the bright eyes of different animals staring right at you – how cool is that! When we got to the launch point we were right in the middle of the reserve. We stood around for a few minutes catching the first glimpse of light while all the workers around us raised the massive balloon upright. Once they were ready, we climbed into the basket and with only a few shots of fire we were floating above the wildlife that surrounded us. There were only 10 of us in the basket and our pilot did some amazing maneuvering. Our flight was just over an hour long and during that time, he kept bringing us close to land so that we could see the animals clearly and then high up into the clouds where all that surrounded us were white fluffy pillows. At the highest, we were about 2000 feet in the air! It was utterly breathtaking, peaceful and honestly felt magical. My favorite wildlife spotting was when we saw lions. It’s rare to see them from above, but we watched them run and bounce through the tall grass. After an hour we gently landed and were taken to have a gourmet breakfast right amidst the wildlife. I could literally see a herd of elephants in the distance while I ate!
If you are at all interested, the pilot put together a 5 minute video that looks like everything was photoshopped, but I promise all the footage was from our flight. Here is the link if you want to watch:
Now I could have called it a day right there, but we still had a FULL day of safari ahead of us with our group! Throughout the day we saw oh so many animals and oh so many babies. I just wanted to pinch myself because the whole day felt surreal.
Here are a few more shots that show you the magnificent beauty of Kenya’s Maasai Mara Reseve:
One funny moment was during lunch. We had a picnic lunch out in the open around an acacia tree and while we were eating, we watched 2 hyenas circle closer and closer to us. Our driver wasn’t too phased and kept an eye out and when they came too close, he started throwing stones in their direction. They eventually decided that our food (or our bodies) were just not that interesting to them. Our food also attracted the marabou stork – the marabou stork is part of Africa’s Ugly 5! They have this massive ball sack hanging from their neck and look a bit diseased, which is all perfectly healthy and normal for this weird creature.
And sadly, vacations can’t last forever so this is the part where the very next day we made our way back to Nairobi and had to say goodbye to our new friends, pack up our bags and get back on that flying tin can back to Canada.
Looking forward to our next adventure and sharing it with you all. Til then!
