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!