Tag:balloon festival
Canberra – The National Capital was not a place that was on my radar to visit. A boring political city, I thought. Not a ‘real’ city that evolved organically, I thought. One that was planned and built just for governing Australia (I thought). I was wrong.
Encouraged by the allure of the Canberra Balloon Spectacular, visit I did. And fell in love with a beautiful city of wide avenues and stunning buildings. Filled with friendly people, a bustling modern city of dining and shops. Canberra – the national capital, is indeed not only worthy of a visit, but I actually plan on returning.
The history stuff…
Following Federation in 1901, the hunt was on for a national capital. Melbourne and Sydney both vied for the honour with fierce rivalry pushing both their cases forward. To solve this dilemma between the two cities, a compromise was written into the Australian Consitution. According to Section 125 of the Australian Constitution, the National Capital had to be no less than 160km (100 miles) from Sydney, but not in Sydney.
Thus the hunt for a location began. Canberra was chosen in 1909, legislated in 1911, and named as the capital of Australia on 12 March 1913.
An international design competition was launched and received 137 entries. Chicago born Walter Burley Griffin and his wife Marion Mahony Griffin’s entry was chosen as the winner. Their plans featured an artificial lake at the heart of the city with a parliamentary triangle. Perched on a hill, atop of parliament house, the huge flagpole bearing the Australian flag can be seen from just about anywhere in the city.
Accommodation
We were in Canberra for 5 nights, staying at Alivio Tourist Park.
The accommodation was clean and comfortable. Alivio was also very handy to everything (it seems like everything in Canberra is only 10-15 mins point to point). We booked the two-bedroom Grevillia cabin, and it came with linen supplied. We had, however, no electric blankets on the beds, and the heating never really warmed the cabin on the cool evenings. As Canberra gets very cold in winter, it’s definitely not a place I would stay at during the colder months.
We had arrived armed with a list of photographic locations we wanted to cover and started ticking them off on our first day. Starting with balloons for sunrise at Lake Burley Griffin, then time out for breakfast in the cafe at the National Library. From the library, we took a drive over to the National Museum and Old Parliament House (now the Democracy Museum)
Architecture
Canberra is full of impressive, stunning buildings. While it’s definitely modern, it also a classical, stately feel to it, with impressive staircases and columns and an abundance of fountains and sculptures.
High on our list of places to shoot was the Ovolo Nishi, with its famous entrance. Playing it smart timewise, we combined this with lunch in their restaurant.
After lunch, we scouted out our locations for the next day. We had to be at Questacon for our balloon ride by 5.45 am the next morning. Looking for it in the dark was not our idea of fun. So we located it and planned our parking for the morning. We then followed this up with some shopping. Weary and footsore, we then headed back to the cabin for some downtime.
Balloons Aloft
Day Two was our balloon flight which I covered the Balloon Spectacular post. Suffice to say, if you have never taken a hot air balloon flight, do so. Stat. It’s a fantastic experience.
Following our balloon flight and breakfast, we visited the National Gallery of Australia. The drawcard for me was Fujiko Nakaya’s Foggy wake in a desert – an ecosphere that operates 12.30 – 2pm daily in the outside sculpture garden.
National Gallery Of Australia
As it was almost lunchtime, so we headed for the National Gallery Cafe. The food was fabulous and very reasonably priced. In fact, we enjoyed it so much and found it such good value; we took lunch here for the remainder of our time in Canberra. After lunch, we went upstairs and visited the Picasso and Matisse Exhibition. It needs to be said that that’s an hour of my life I won’t get back. If you have the opportunity to see it, don’t. Run, don’t walk in the other direction. Yes, the paintings are worth a fortune. Yes, most of them look like a group of 4yr old kindergarten kids did it at the kitchen table. I guess I am more of a classical girl.
Before leaving, we checked out Yayoi Kusama’s ‘Spirits Of The Pumpkins Descended Into The Heavens’. This is a bright yellow room, completely covered with black dots. A mirrored box with steps is the highlight of the room, camouflaged by the room around it. And despite my classical leanings, I loved it.
Mount the steps, pop your head in the hole and immerse yourself in a space that is infinite, yet claustrophobic. With the clever use of mirrors the ‘pumpkins’ stretch to infinity.
Australian War Memorial
The last stop of the day was the Australian War Memorial. Built to commemorate the 102,000 Australian men and women who died serving their country, it also honours those who served overseas and at home.
The Pool of Reflection and Flame of Remembrance leads to the towering Hall of Memory and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Stunning stained glass windows flank the tomb, which lies under a high dome mosaic of six million pieces.
Cloisters line each side of the Reflection Pool with a roll of honour of more than 60,000 names.
Our time in Canberra was definitely enjoyable. Not the stuffy, staid city I was expecting. Canberra is also surprisingly affordable. All galleries and buildings we visited are free to enter. Except for the Picasso exhibition, but that’s a memory I would like to forget. The parking is cheap, and on weekends at the galleries and museums, it’s free, unlike Melbourne and Sydney that still charge through the nose for parking at major venues.
The weather was fabulous for most of the time, with sunny blue skies and T-shirt weather. Only one day was wet and windy, but it cleared up again the next day. No sunrises or sunsets, though. I seem to have a sunrise, sunset jinx on me 🙁
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The Canberra Balloon Spectacular takes place each year in early March, with the balloons launching from the lawns of Old Parliament House. Once the balloons are airborne, they fly across Lake Burley Griffin and the surrounding hills.
During the annual Canberra Balloon Spectacular, around 30 giant balloons take to the air each morning at dawn. Over the next nine days of the spectacular, weather permitting, they fly. Some with passengers, some with just a pilot or two. There is, however, no guarantee of them flying every morning, as rain or strong wind can ground them. The balloons fly best in winds of 4-10 kms an hour and will never take to the sky in winds of 18km or more. We were extremely lucky with the weather on our flight. Light winds and sunshine were the order of the day.
The next day, a front came through with rain and high winds, and the balloons were grounded for the next two days.
The first morning, we headed down to Lennox Park on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin. The Balloons were taking off quite near to where we set up, so we were able to photograph them quite close up as they rose over the trees and crossed the lake.
The giant 38.7m Tyrannosaurus Rex balloon was one of the stars of the spectacular – making his first appearance in Australia.
Taking To The Air
This year – when the balloons took flight, I planned to be in one of them. That my booking for my first ever balloon flight happened to fall on Friday 13th did give me pause for thought. However, following my rule of trying something new, each holiday I take, I bit the bullet and booked. Our flight was in the yellow Canberra balloon, piloted by Gary from Balloons Aloft.
The balloons started inflating around 6.30 am, and we were in the air by 7 am. The flight was smooth and totally fantastic. We rose silently (apart from the sound of flame bursts) to a height of approximately 3000 ft. With a multitude of balloons all rising at the same time, it sounded like a flock/herd? of dragons taking flight. In spite of the early morning, it wasn’t cold in the balloon, as you had the whoosh of gas and bursts of flame warming your head, keeping you warm.
Gliding over the landscape, with balloons below and above us, was an unforgettable experience
The flight itself took around 45 mins before landing (reasonably gently) on the lawns of the National Arboretum. From there, we were taken back to the hospitality tents for breakfast put on by the Lions Club (and included in the price of our ticket). Balloons Aloft also supplied everyone with a certificate for the flight as well as champagne for those who wanted it. I did 😉
The whole event totally whetted my appetite to do it again. I loved the flight and cant wait to go up again… now, the question is, where to do it?
Best Spots To Photograph The Balloons
There are lots of great vantage points to see and photograph the balloons; our favourites were:
- By the lake opposite the National Museum. This is one of the first places the balloons reach, and they pass in front of you quite close
- Opposite the new playground/Park area on Barrine Dve (North side of the Lake), again looking over the water to the Museum in the west
- Black Mountain Peninsula – there is a vantage point on the left-hand side. In most instances, the Balloons will head toward you from the Parliament lawns, but it depends on the wind! The downside to this spot is you may end up with the sun rising behind the balloons, but if this is the case, you will get good silhouettes! If they drift more to the south of you, then it’s all good.
Balloon Aloft
We flew with Balloon Aloft, and they were great. Very professional, and really appreciated the hot cooked breakfast at the end of our flight
Ph: 02 6249 8660
Queens Birthday weekend 2019, the King Valley Balloon Festival was held at Brown Brothers Winery at Millawa. I made the journey up the Hume Hwy to Millawa in the King Valley for the Balloon Festival. There were mass ascensions at 7 am each morning, Friday to Monday, plus a Balloon Glow on Saturday night at Brown Brothers and the opportunity to visit friends.
Packing and Planning
Tickets to the Balloon Glow sold out a few weeks ahead, so we knew it would be packed out. The week before the event was freezing cold and wet in Melbourne, and we were concerned about the weather. So everyone planned their night around chairs, hand and toe warmers, a thermos of soup, lap rugs, gloves, and beanies. As it turned out, while it was cold in the mornings, it wasn’t too bad, and we had sunshine each day.
Morning Acsenions
On Saturday morning, we stumbled out of bed in the dark at the ungodly hour of 5 am, and with multiple layers of clothing and headlights on high beam, we drove from our accommodation at Cheshunt to Brown Brothers for the launch. I and some others were spectators, while a few other members were going up for a balloon ride with Goldrush Ballooning. Unfortunately, it wasn’t much of a sunrise on Saturday. Still, the atmosphere was excellent. The sounds of the balloons being inflated bursts of colourful flame as they warmed the air in the balloon. A myriad of colours coming to life before your eyes.
By 7.30 am, all balloons were in the air. We walked through a decommissioned balloon to see the inside (incredible), then headed back to the car with the plan to go home for breakfast. A fellow member, Mark Busittil from Mark at Melbourne Landscapes, took a great drone video of the departing balloons. Watch it HERE.
Leaving the carpark and driving down the road, we spotted the balloons over the fields, so we delayed our breakfast and had a fun half-hour balloon chasing.
Back for the Balloon Glow
Around 2.30 pm, we headed back to Brown Brothers Winery for the balloon glow. Gates opened at 3.30 pm and while the parking was easy – the queue to get in was horrendous.
A plodding shuffle that took 40 mins from the end of the queue to entry put a damper on the afternoon. Places against the barrier were very limited by the time we got through. Fortunately, members had saved spots for each other, and we shimmied in. By around 5 pm, it was four deep behind us, and the “Glow” show didn’t start till 6 pm.
The ‘Man In Grey Felt Hat Balloon’ modelled on a self-portrait by Van Gogh was over from the Netherlands and set up early – and the rows of photographers amused themselves by taking pics of it from all angles as it gently spun around.
At 6 pm, the music started, and the balloons followed in – one hour of balloons glowing synchronized to the music. Still have ‘Sweet Caroline” running through my head. Finally, at 8 pm, it was all over – and we started piling out of the car park for the trip home. Headlights and spotlights again on high beam, and eyes peeled for suicidal kangaroos or deer, of which we saw none. Made it back safe and sound.
I had a nice sleep in next morning. I’m told which was poor planning, as the sunrise was spectacular. A few more members went up and got incredible shots over the valley with the sun rising. Next year – I’m definitely going up!