TRAVEL TECH, Lightening the Load

Multitasking devices and smart accessories can help prevent gadget overload.

When you're packing for a trip there's always the Big Decision: what to take with you? Now that we have gadgets and gizmos to factor in, this process has only gotten harder. The problem if further compounded by the arrival of innumerable accessories for your electronic devices, meaning that the decision about whether to bring, say, your iPod then elicits another round of decisions about which iPod-related bits and pieces you might bring along to keep your music player company. I'm not claiming to be the most efficient packer, usually bringing too many extras or not enough, but I've got a few suggestions that may help you, whether you're about to embark on a business trip, a weekend holiday, or a round-the-world tour.

First, think weight, I recall watching a presentation by a guy who walked solo across the North Pole, and his most memorable piece of advice was not about avoiding thin ice or polar bears, but rather about packing light. He took his own counsel seriously, even sawing off the end of his toothbrush to save a dozen grams.

Of course, there are some things you wouldn't dream of bringing on a trip unless you had the services of sherpas or door-to-door porters. Wide-screen TVs spring to mind, but so do the bulkier external speakers for iPods and other music players. (Which is not to say that iPod speakers don't have their place: Logitech's new AudioStation Express has become a fixture on my desk, and will run off batteries, making it portable enough if you're just headed out to the pool or beach. I just wouldn't want it in my carry-on luggage-it's four times as heavy as my iPod). But when it comes to smaller items, deciding what to pack can be a quandary, not least because many of us are poor judges of weight. Nokia's N91 phone, for example, contains a mini hard drive and sports a sleek metal finish, making it somehow feel heavier than its bulkier but less metallic cousin, the N92. Weigh them on a kitchen scale, however, and the N91 is a good 60 grams lighter. This may not sound like much but it all adds up, particularly when you consider all the things that come with it, such as adapters and batteries. An ordinary digital camera, for example, may weigh only 100 grams, but the charger can add half that weight again.

We're still stuck in a world, you see, where gadgets come with their own unique chargers/adapters, an absurdity that is matched only by the profusion of proprietary batteries. We end up lugging a whole army of these things around with us. Thanks to battery makers like Moixa, however, this looks set to change: the British company has already come out with AA batteries (see www.usbcell.com) that you can recharge from a USB socket on your laptop, and plans to do the same thing for other sizes of battery soon, including those for your mobile phone and camera. In the meantime, arm yourself with multitasking adapters: Targus (www.targus.com), for example, offers adapters that will charge and run a range of devices, from phones to laptops. Also look for cables that remove the need for a charger altogether. For my Treo 650 smartphone, I saved myself 100 grams by buying a US$15 USB synchronization cable that also happens to recharge the phone from my laptop. Of course, I have to bring my laptop along too.

That said, laptops are getting lighter. Acer, Lenovo, Compaq, and Fujitsu all make what are called ultralights (formerly known as sub notebooks), which can weigh anywhere between one and two kilograms. Then there are even lighter units, like the OQO (www.oqo.com) model 01+, a sort of mini-tablet PC weighing 400 grams. They're still a bit pricey, though don't expect to pay under US$1,000. But for me their biggest downside is the lack of a decent keyboards; indeed, some have slide-out pads that would be more at home on a smart phone than a laptop. The OQO 01+, for example, comes with a keyboard so small that your fingers will cramp after just a few lines of typing.

This is where an external keyboard can make all the difference. As you know from past columns, I swear by using a smartphone or PDA (personal digital assistant) with an external keyboard-it's still the best way to get the job done. The same holds true for ultralight laptops. My preference would be the ThinkOutside Stowaway Universal Bluetooth Keyboard (www.thinkoutside.com), which, despite its cumbersome name and reliance on the cranky Bluetooth wireless standard, is as sleek and cool as a slim cigarette case. It also works with a number of different gadgets, including many phones. Oh, and it weighs only 140 grams.

One sure way to save yourself from gadget overload is to limit your devices to those that perform multiple functions. Your laptop, for example, makes a great DVD player; just remember to bring along the DVD drive and an audio two-for-one adapter so that you can share the movie with your companion. I'm no great fan of Nokia phones as music devices, but they'll do in a pinch if I don't want to bring my iPod with me. With an external card aboard, the Treo 650 too has enough space to include a few hours of music, podcasts, or audiobooks - and that's on top of important stuff like email, Internet browsing, and word processing.

I can understand that for some folk under the age of 21 this kind of thing makes sense - it may even be de rigueur in certain circles - but I am not sure about the rest of us. If the trend broadens, there's a danger we'll have to consider not only what gadgets to take with us, and what accessories for which gadgets to take with us, but also what clothing to take with the accessories that go with the gadgets that we take with us. It's enough to make you want to stay home.


About Writer:
Jeremy Wagstaff is a technology columnist based in Jakarta, Indonesia. He has been writing his occasionally serious "Loose Wire" column for the past five years; it currently appears in The Wall Street Journal Asia. Wagstaff can be reached on his blog www.loosewireblog.com, or write to him with your own travel-tech tips at loosewire@gmail.com

A Safe Haven for the Bali Starling

At first glance, the landscape of Nusa Penida, located to the south-east of Bali, seems to have little to offer. The hills have virtually been stripped bare of all trees, leaving behind a bizarre moon-like landscape of barren hills covered with alang-alang grass. Boulder are scattered around natural stone-walled pastures, and the tall vegetation gives off a lovely and all-pervading smell of lime. There appears to be not a great deal of adventure ahead for a true fan of unspoiled tropical surrounding.

First impressions, however, are deceiving. The silence one finds on this island, the absence of noise and strangely comforting cool air in the higher regions, make the experience a special one. The views from such high vantage points as Puncak Mundi and Tunjuk Pusuh are breathtaking. One cannot help but feel elated at this sight, so close and yet so eternally far away from the hustle and bustle of mainland Bali glimmering in the distance.

Afterhaving conquered a few miles of surprisingly smooth if, at times, frightfully steep and narrow tarmac roads leading to the interior, one discovers that the hills are, after all, not that blatantly naked. There are quite number of undisturbed, pristine pockets of forest on the island. The total size of the forest on the island is 1,048 hectares, a mere 5% of Nusa Penida. Not something to boast about, but in reality there is much village forest still in good condition, sprawled out between farming areas, such as the forests near Tembeling, Tunjuk Pusuh and Puncak Mundi. The tiny hamlet of Penida in the far southwestern corner of the islands is an absolute beauty, with not only pristine forest but a freshwater pool at the beach of Crystal Bay as well. One other fine example of natural and unspoilt forest is to be found near the village of Sekartaji, in the remote southeastern corner of Nusa Penida.

Sekartaji is also the home of the lesser sulphur-crested cockatoo. At present, there are only four of these birds on the island, and three of them live in a gigantic, bright-red plowering “Stinky Sterculia”, a sacred tree just next to one of the temples. According to the local community, in the 1980s there were still quite a few of these birds around this village. However, the number of cockatoos dropped drastically since the bird was considered a pest. Scarce food crops such as corn were systematically plundered by large flocks of cockatoos.

At Tembeling, a long stretch of lush rainforest meanders down through the hills, from an altitude of around 200 meters towards the sea. One can start this walk from the back of Tembeling hamlet, where a spacious release enclosure for the Bali Starling was set up. From their home perch in a tall tree, two Rainbow Bee-eaters tumble down and nimbly snatch insects in mid-air. After a walk down through thick foliage along a narrow path, it is a true joy to bathe in the cool and shaded ‘temple’ pond fed by fresh water filtered through the limestone.

Raptors like the Brahminy Kite and the majestic white-bellied Sea-eagle are to be admired on top of the cliffs at Banah Point,on the south-west coast. The views from the steep cliffs over the ocean, with the waves down below breaking against the rocks, are spectacular. Birds-of-prey soar alongside the cliffs, virtually at eye level. In addition, there’s the Black-winged starling, once thought to be endangered, now to be found in their hundreds around the mangroves on Lembongan and elsewhere on Nusa Penida.

Amongst these birds, the Bali Starling is no doubt the most important representative of Bali’s fauna. To salvage this only Balinese endemic, and critically endangered bird, the Nusa Penida Bird Sanctuary has successfully introduced a conversation program. The Sanctuary hosts breeding facilities for the Bali Starling, and has seen an incredible rate of chicks born in captivity. Up to the time of writing, a total of 50 birds born in captivity were released on Nusa Penida where they now are breeding in the wild.

The first generation of seventeen wild birds is gaily populating their new habitat. It is a truly magnificent project that has deliberately opted for an alternative approach in protecting this vulnerable bird species against poachers, human greed and forest encroachment. The Bird Sanctuary has, in fact, chosen a radically new conservation approach.

The natural habitat of this gem amongst birds is the West Bali National Park, not Nusa Penida. Many former conservation programs have failed to succeed in preserving the Bali Starling in Bali and numbers in the wild dwindled to about five. These deploring results have inspired Bayu Wirayudha, Director of Friends of the National Parks Foundation and Begwawan Giri Foundation, with the idea of tackling the problem in rather a revolutionary way: a fully integrated approach that combines nature conservation and community development backedup by the islands traditional “awig-awig” laws.

In 2005, an all-encompassing agreement was reached between the conservation foundation, the religious authorities, the provincial government to implement an adapt law that ordains a total ban on hunting birds on Nusa Penida. The link between religion, adat and strongly felt support given to the population of the island, has, in other words, created the ideal circumstances for this project to succeed.

The Lesser Sulphur-crested Cockatoo and the endangered Java Sparrow both get a chance of survival of this ‘reinvented’ natural environment. All of these feathered friends find a new and safe haven on Nusa Penida, and perhaps thanks to the Sanctuary’s ’holistic’ approach, the Bali Starling is again thriving.

Presently, around 60 birds inhabit the island. Moreover, the birds are happy to see that the conservation program recently received a warm welcome by various institutions and officials, including President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who has confirmed his personal interest in this project by releasing 12 birds last April. This way, the once ill-fated island now seems to be on its way to becoming a better place for the local community and a natural haven for the birds.

TRAVEL AND ACCOMMODATION
Nusa Penida can be reached by ferry from Padangbai, with one crossing a day aboard the ’Nusa Jaya Abadi’. It carries some 400 people and a limited number of vehicles. Alternatively, fast boats leave regularly from Sanur and Benoa to Lembongan, with further connections to Nusa Gede.

Accommodation of the island is scarce and basic with losmen in Batumulapan, Toyapakeh and the harbor at Sampalan. Alternative lodgings, comfortable if more expensive, are available at Lembongan and Ceningan. In addition, there is basic and inexpensive accommodation at the Nusa Penida Bird Sanctuary.

For more information on a visit you may want to contact the sanctuary prior to departure
They can be reached at via the Friends of the National Park Foundation
(www.northernmagic.com/fnpf)
Jl. Bisma 3, Ubud
Phone 0361-977978
e-mail fnpf@dps.centrin.net.id

The writer is a freelance writer on Indonesian culture and nature conservation based in Ubud, Bali. He began working in Indonesia in 1996 and now divides his time between Bali and Holland.
He can be contacted at g.dijkman@gmail.com

Ultimate Holiday at Amanpuri

The first impression you get when you enter the Amanpuri complex in Phuket is: This resort is really big! With a total area of 77 acres, even exploring all the resort facilities by vehicle takes quite a long time, let alone if you tried it on foot.

Located on a small hilly peninsula on the west coast of Phuket Island, the Amanpuri has direct access to the white-sand Pansea Beach and Bang Tao Beach on the shores of the Andaman Sea. This resort, which recently celebrated its 20^th anniversary, was the first in the Aman Group. Built on the former site of a coconut plantation, every one of the resort’s 40 pavilions and 30 bungalows is sheltered by tall, beautiful coconut trees – there are 6,000 coconut trees in the resort. Adopting Thai architectural style, each pavilion has a bedroom and a separate dining room. Pavilions 103 and 105 are the closest to the beach and have the best views of the Andaman Sea.

Each of the villas, which have from two to six bedrooms, has its own private swimming pool, some of which are infinity pools. Each villa has bedrooms, a dining space, living space, and a kitchen in a separate building. You can imagine that even one villa is quite spacious. Each villa is served by a housekeeper and a cook.

If the six tennis courts, library with 1,000 titles, spa treatments with an exclusive steam room, and gymnasium with a direct view of Bang Tao Beach aren’t enough for you, Amanpuri has yet another facility to pamper its guests: Amancruises.

With over 20 cruise ships and sailboats, all manned with professional crews, Amanpuri is the resort with the most complete cruise facilities in Southeast Asia. These cruise ships and boats provide both day trips and overnight trips for guests who want to explore the islands around Phuket, such as Similan Island, Racha Island, Koh Kai Nok, Koh Dok Mai, and the islands and maritime beauty of the nearby provinces of Phang Nga and Krabi.

The Maha Bhetra, for example, is a 90-foot wooden yacht in classic Southern Thailand style, used for longer sailing voyages in the Andaman Sea. The Sealion, a traditional Hong Kong junk over 100 years old, is used for lunch trips to Phang Nga Bay. The Aman 1 is a 60-foot luxury yacht that can carry 24 passengers. And if you want speed, the speedboat Blowfish can be used for fishing, snorkeling, or diving at more remote venues.

In short, stay at the Amanpuri when you holiday in Phuket, and you will gain special memories that other people may never experience.

Amanpuri
Pansea Beach, Phuket 83000, Thailand
Tel: +66 76 324333
Fax: +66 76 324 100 / 324 200
E-mail: amanpuri@amanresorts.com
www.amanresorts.com

Nusa Dua's Laguna Resort & Spa Offers Exclusive Suite Accommodation

Spacious, luxurious accommodation is available in the suites offered by The Laguna Resort & Spa, Nusa Dua, Bali, voted Best Resort Outbound by travel agents and travel industry professionals in the 2007 Travel Weekly China Industry Awards.

Ranging from the expansive 390 square meters of the Imperial Suite to the intimate 60sqm of the Honeymoon Suite, the resort’s upper levels of accommodation provide luxury residential options.

Of the 18 suites available, the most impressive is the 2-bedroomed Imperial Suite. The Imperial Suite is the Laguna Resort and Spa’s stately homage to unrivalled affluence. Two floors stand in a secluded corner of the property and a majestic stateroom offers direct access to a private and spacious pool deck and the lagoon.

The dining room seats 10 and furnishing’s are of the finest quality, a grand piano decorated with gold leaf, a Murano glass chandelier, leather seating and electric blinds that reveal stunning views across the lagoon, gardens and Bali Sea.

Kinetic lighting and 42” plasma TVs bring the latest technology to a rich and tasteful interior, which also includes a Bose sound system, wi-fi internet access, hand-picked furniture and art pieces. A private study makes time for business.

Upstairs, two expansive bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms offer airy, secluded balconies and discreet 24-hour butler service and full kitchen facilities extol the standards of Imperial life.

Also spanning two floors are the Sultan and Raja suites, each offering 158 square meters of unadulterated residential luxury. Downstairs, floor-to-ceiling windows bathe the duplex’s beautifully furnished lounge in exquisite natural light.

The two-storey duplex suites include a grand living area, a chic dining area and a master bedroom on the second floor with a private balcony with ocean views overlooking the clear blue lagoon and gardens.

Smaller, yet no less luxurious, are the more intimate Honeymoon, Executive and Lagoon Access suites, which measure 60sqm of private residential style with an exclusive air.

Spacious master bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms radiate a luxurious, homely ambiance. A 42” Plasma TV in the lounge and wireless connectivity ensure you stay connected and private in-room dining is available in a separate dining area.

As in all suites, butler service is available 24-hours a day.

All 18 luxury suites were included in the US$7.5m renovation of the Laguna Resort and Spa.

For Further information, please contact:
Sugeng Purnomo – Director of Marketing Communication
Sugeng.Purnomo@luxurycollection.com
The Laguna Resort & Spa, Nusa Dua, Bali
Kawasan Pariwisata Nusa Dua Lot. N.2
P.O. Box 77, Nusa Dua, Bali 80363
Indonesia
t. 62.361.771 327
f. 62.361.771 849
www.luxurycollection.com/bali

Floating Over Melbourne

Melbourne, unlike Sydney, with its handful of monumental postcard-perfect icons, is a city that reveals itself slowly, inviting the investor to take the time to discover its charms. Unlike Sydney, which offers itself promiscuously to any visitor who cares to take a half-day tour to see the Bridge, the Harbour and the Opera House, Melbourne spreads its attractions out, hiding them across the city.

Of course, this is what makes Melbourne such an interesting adventure – when you catch a tram up Swanston street to stumble across the mélange of fruit, vegetable, and flower traders, each proudly Australian and yet each inspired by the traditions of their ancestors from Greece, Italy, China and every corner of the globe, gathered together under the sprawling roofs of the Queen Victoria Market, it feels like a revelation, a personal discovery.

Or you can join the strollers down Acland street in St Kilda, where the evidence of the influence of Central European migrants is clear from the rows of wickedly decadent cake and coffee shops, where you can choose between hot bagels, sour cherry strudel dusted with icing sugar, fabulously rich baked ricotta cheese cake, and a myriad of other delights, washed down with strong, deliciously bitter coffee, before going for a wander down to the pier, where yachts wait to take the traveler for a sail on the bay, perhaps to see one of Melbourne’s best kept secrets – a colony of Little Penguins, one of the only such in close proximity to such a major metropolis.

It costs ten quid to get into London’s famous Kew Gardens, and on a busy day you’ll have to elbow your way through lines of camera-bearing tourists to get there. Melbourne, on the other hand, has so many different parks and gardens, all free to visit and most of them unfenced, that it is hard to know which to choose. Some, like the Royal Melbourne Botanical Gardens, with its native ducks and the black antipodean swans, are finely sculpted masterpieces of land-scaping, with beautifully laid out lawns and a beguiling mix of native and exotic plant life. Buy some stale bread to feed to the birds, and enjoy the day. Other parks, like Studley Park, are more wild and unkempt, a patch of native forest inside the city boundaries that stretches down to merge into the river flats around Melbourne’s main waterway, the Yarra River. Here, you can rent a canoe or kayak to paddle upstream so as to allow the currents to bring you back to your base on your way home.

Of course, Melbourne has its more obvious attractions, too. A couple of decades ago, Melbourne’s Docklands were a decaying industrial zone located in the unfashionable western suburbs. Since then, seemingly overnight, an area around Victoria Harbour that includes three kilometers of river frontage has been transformed into a glitzy, slick urban centre and entertainment precinct. With a spectacular harbour, stunning views, unique urban art, grand promenades, historical wharves, new marinas and parkland, the Docklands has been billed as one of the world’s greatest urban domains.

To get a picture of Sydney, take a cruise on a yacht or catch a ferry – you can see most of the good stuff from water. But to see Melbourne in its entirely, you need to look at it from the air – and one of the most exciting ways to do this is to float across the city in a hot air balloon. There are now several balloon operators who offer sunrise floats over the city, but of these, Balloon Sunrise’s Melbourne by Balloon trip is perhaps the oldest and most established.

Like sailing, ballooning is extremely dependent on the weather, and particularly on the winds. As states Balloon Sunrise pilot, Rob Deeble, the wind is usually at its calmest in the early morning, just after dawn. With the sun rising, it is also a particularly beautiful time to take flight. But as Rob says: “The weather may look hunky-dory from the ground, but it may be quite different up high. Also, sometimes the weather may seem fine early on in the day but wind speeds can change dramatically”. With all licensed commercial operations adhering to the strictest possible safety standards, then, the pre-flight weather check with the meteorology experts is a vitally important ritual. Participants in a flight will usually be asked to call to confirm their bookings the night before departure, when the ground crew and pilots have something of an idea of what the weather will be like the next morning. Even so, it is often necessary to call in the pre-dawn hours of the morning itself for final confirmation. Quite simply, a reputable commercial balloon operation will not fly if their pilot are not completely convinced that it will be safe, even at the risk of disappointing eager participants. While balloons fly all year around, at certain times, participants may have to allow a window of several days to ensure a good chance of getting a flight.

As a group of newbie balloonists sit in the lobby of Melbourne’s Grand Hyatt Hotel, crossing and uncrossing their legs and looking nervous and excited in equal measure, Rob and Nick, pilots with several thousand flying hours between them, talk laconically into their walkie-talkies, making a last minute check with the bureau of meteorology. “Light north-easterly winds, a perfect morning for ballooning,” says a smooth voice at the other end. Rob and Nick chuckle at the delivery. “I think he’d really like a job as an announcer on commercial radio,” Nick says. But it’s good news. After a few moments consultation, they announce that this morning’s departure will take place from Melbourne’s Docklands, One of eight possible sites, the choice depending on prevailing conditions.

Setting up the balloon is both a dramatic spectacle and a hands-on learning experience, with everyone expected to help. As on a sailing boat, no one is just a passenger. Each new balloonist is expected to help lay the envelope of the balloon, stretching it out as flat as possible. Rob and Nick direct the proceedings, keeping a sharp eye to ensure that everything is going smoothly. A small basket, capable of holding eight passengers and the pilot, is attached to the envelope before the burner is secured in place.

It is the burner that provides the means for a hot air balloon to ascend. Put simply, a hot air balloon works because hot air is lighter than cool air. If enough hot air is contained within the envelope of the balloon, the balloon will rise into the air. However, it takes a massive amount of hot air to lift the weight of nine people and the equipment required to carry them - about 65,000 cubic feet of heated air to lift a weight of a thousand pounds. Throughout the flight, when the envelope cools or when extra lifting power is required, the pilot will ignite the burner to add hot air, just as one might add hot water to a bath tub to keep the temperature at the right level.

Once the envelope is full, the passengers take up their positions in the basket. Rob, who is still fiddling with the burner, takes a moment to explain the ground rules. “Right, from now on in, you are all officially ballast. If two of you leapt out right now, the balloon would ascend rapidly. This would not be a good thing. Stay where you are and never leave the balloon until I tell you it’s okay.” He pauses and adds dryly: “Of course, that should be fairly obvious where we are a thousand meters up in the sky. But it holds after we come in to land, too.”

The balloon is unsecured from the ropes holding it to the floor. The flight is underway. This is nothing like a commercial aeroplane flight, nor even like a joy ride in a helicopter or light plane. No, it is like sailing, sailing through the sky, higher and higher by the second. One feels weight-less, as if you are drifting along, floating on air.

Down below is the Docklands, now illuminated in the rich orange light of the morning sun, and prettier, somehow, at this distance. The magnificent parks and gardens, the spectacular skyline in the dawn, the Arts Centre spire, the challenge of Federation Square, the bulk of the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the peaceful green of the Botanic Gardens, the hum of the rush hour traffic and through the middle of everything the Yarra River, winding its way from the leafy suburbs out past the industrious harbour and Westgate bridge to the shining waters of Port Phillip Bay, are all clearly visible.

Except when Rob ignites the burner, which hisses like a cheap camping stove, all is silent, apart from the occasional garrulous exclamation from one of the passengers. One turns to Rob and grins broadly for no particular reason, then asks “Doin’ okay there, Rob?” “Yeah, sure,” he replies coolly, “Think I’ve got my vertigo under control.” And there is silence again.

The balloon drifts to the east, away from the rapidly rising sun. While the winds are sufficiently strong, the balloon moves with them, at almost the same speed, so it feels perfectly still and peaceful –just the way it does in a sailing boat when you have the winds behind you and you are going full ahead.

After just under an hour, we are drifting over North Balwyn – not bad timing, really, probably a quicker trip than it would be on crowded roads in a car. At this point, Rob starts thinking about finding a safe place to bring the balloon in to land. Just as the point of departure is determined by the weather, so is the landing site. Later, Rob tells the passengers that Balloon Sunrise has established good relations with shires and councils across Melbourne, to facilitate landing on more than fifty possible landing sites across the city, including football fields, parks and other open spaces. On this particular morning, he chooses a large park in North Balwyn.

Depending on the prevailing winds, the landing can actually be quite a bumpy affair. Rob brings the balloon down at a very slow rate to land it at 45 degree angle to the floor, to help the basket lose speed and come to a halt quicker. It is a perfect landing, more gentle than most aeroplane landings by far, and we land upright. Sometimes, Rob admits, the basket will actually end up on its side with the passengers lying horizontal with their torsos sticking out of the top of the basket. With side rail supports and ropes to hang on to make sure nobody falls out, this is not dangerous, just part of the ballooning experience.

Rob allows the balloon to deflate partially and gives the word that it’s safe to get out. Just as setting the balloon up is a hands-on experience involving all passengers, so is the process of deflating the envelope and packing it away. The passengers from a chain to fold the balloon and pack it up, before lifting it up onto the van, together with the basket and burner.

Back on land and with everything packed, it is now time for the final ritual of the hot air balloon experience – the champagne breakfast. Back at the Grand Hyatt, excited passengers, hungry and thirsty from their exertions, shovel down plates of eggs, bacon, toast with honey and jam, fresh fruits and muesli, all washed down with strong, hot coffee and champagne.

With the crowd of new balloonists, some joined by children, friends and spouses eager for details of the trip, seated around him, Rob, who has already amply demonstrated his skills as a pilot, shows that he is something of a raconteur as well, smoothly answering the myriad of questions that are showered upon him and regaling the party with stories and anecdotes about the history of hot air ballooning. At one point, he proposes a champagne toast, then pauses to explain exactly why the drink of champagne is traditional after a flight. “In the early days, when the first hot air balloonists took off in France, they were often forced to land in farmers’ fields with no prior notice or warning. Of course, the farmers were a bit freaked out by this. They probably thought the balloon was an apparition from hell, or something like that. So, the balloonists used to leap out and offer the farmers a bottle of bubbly for their trouble. That usually smoothed things over. All we are doing is continuing the tradition,” he says.

And with that, the party laugh heartily for no good reason and clink their glasses. Not, they seem to think, that you need an excuse for drinking champagne after floating over Melbourne.

Balloon Sunrise offers commercial flights over Melbourne and the Yarra Valley, Victoria’s prime wine growing region, approximately forty-five minutes from Melbourne. For further details, please contact Balloon Sunrise at:
Telephone: +61 3 9730 2422
Toll Free: 1 800 992 105
Fax: +61 3 9730 2433
Email: info@hotairballooning.com.au
Website: www.hotairballooning.com.au