My alarm buzzed at an ungodly 3.30am, but this wasn’t a typical Sunday morning wake-up call.
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Just the day before, my phone had rung at around 6pm.
It was my friend Jay Bryce.
He said his mum, Terri Cowley, had an extra ticket for a hot air balloon ride the following morning, but he couldn’t go because he was in Melbourne.
We had to be in Benalla by 5.30am the following day.
A quick decision had to be made, and now here I was, still grappling with the magnitude of my ‘yes’ — especially given my lifelong fear of heights.
This was the beginning of an adventure that lifted me, quite literally, out of my comfort zone.
My mission?
A hot air balloon ride from St James to Dookie over blooming canola fields, operated by Paul Gibbs, Australia’s five-time national ballooning champion and the 2004 world bronze medallist.
This is how I swapped my fear of heights for a sky-high perspective that most only dream of.
Trying to shake off the sleepiness, I got ready and drove to Terri’s house, arriving at 4.30am.
She greeted me with the same mix of enthusiasm and sleep deprivation, and together, we set off for an adventure.
We arrived in Benalla about 5.45am.
The town is the base of operations for Goldrush Ballooning, a balloon operator led by Paul.
He and his partner, Maaike Bierma, have been running the business since 2014 after buying it from a friend and relocating it to north-east Victoria.
“We’re like a small airline, really,” Paul said.
“Ballooning is a Civil Aviation Safety Authority-regulated activity, and we adhere to all the high standards they have set.”
After a quick briefing in Benalla, we were off to St James, our launch site.
Once there, I watched Paul and Maaike with awe as they unloaded the basket from their trailer on to the grass.
We weren’t the only ones; Paul and Maaike’s friends, who are recreational ballooners, were also on-site, preparing to ascend in two other balloons.
My heart started to race a little.
I’d always been wary of heights, and momentarily, I questioned my decision.
But it was too late. I was already in too deep.
Maaike wouldn’t be joining us in the air; she followed our journey from the ground and would meet us at our landing point.
Paul started with a fan, pushing cold air into the balloon.
It was a process I’d never witnessed, and I was mesmerised by how it started taking shape.
Paul said they were one of only 21 professional balloon operators in Australia.
“The bar to entry is very high,” he said.
“We get regularly audited by CASA and do all of our safety and emergency training.”
The balloon expanded little by little until it was time for the burner.
The roar filled the morning air, and the sight of the fully inflated balloon was nothing short of magical.
Terri, Paul and I climbed into the basket, and Paul took us through the safety measures.
With a pull on the burner, the moment had arrived.
Slowly but surely, we lifted off the ground.
I felt a strange sensation — a mixture of excitement and a dash of fear.
Up we went, soaring just after the sunrise, making our way across 18km of scenic Victoria landscape.
The flight over the canola is exclusive to August and September due to the fields only flowering in these months, making the experience even more special.
As we floated, smoothly over the canola fields, the golden flowers contrasted beautifully with the morning sky.
It was a sight to which words could barely do justice.
Homes looked like toy houses, and the world appeared so tranquil.
“So pilots can navigate to where they want to land,” Paul said, “we have pre-existing arrangements with farmers throughout our flying locations where we’ve requested permission to land.”
As we descended, I noticed Dookie College coming into view.
We touched down gently, and I couldn’t believe it was over.
The whole process, from meeting Paul and Maaike until landing, had taken about three hours, and the flight itself was about an hour long, but the experience was timeless.
“I started ballooning in 1985,” Paul said.
It was clear that his years of experience had contributed to this flawless journey.
I’d started the day apprehensive, fearing the heights and the unpredictability.
But Paul and Maaike’s professionalism and the beauty of the experience completely erased my earlier reservations
And so, as I left Dookie College with a new appreciation for the skies, I knew that this was an adventure I’d cherish for ever.
Cadet Journalist