Prepare to rise with the sun. As you sit in a basket suspended from a mossand tan balloon, you may wonder if you're still asleep and dreaming. Cool air carries the aroma of damp earth and wildebeest past your nostrils; metal burners hiss and fill the balloon with hot air; slanting rays of a new day shoot golden light onto the Serengeti plains. As the balloon lifts off, it scuds across the ash-and-dust soil of ancient volcanoes and jostles you to your senses.

Motion catches your eye. A flash of yellow and black fur emanates from an acacia tree growing along a bank of the Seronera River. As the balloon floats closer, skimming silently along the ground, a leopard takes shape, staring warily at you from a blonde branch on an acacia tree. You rise higher, into a new current of air that gently shifts your direction.

From the take-off point at the Maasai Kopjes (pronounced "copies"), a rocky outcropping of boulders, shrubs and small trees, to the top of the balloon's flight path about 1,000 feet above the Seronera Valley, you will cover 10-15 kilometers of some of the best wildlife-viewing terrain in the world. Your particular route will depend on the winds blowing at various altitudes, all of which are usually gentle at dawn. Your pilot regulates the balloon's lift by applying or withholding hot air and seeks currents at various levels to direct the balloon toward the wildlife action.

Photo by: Pamela Siren

Tony Pascoe, who operates the only two balloons authorized to fly over the Seronera Valley, describes the balloonist's unique view of game trails that wind towards the river, the "hard edge" of a moving herd of migrating wildebeest, and the distinctive patterns made by woodland and grassland vegetation.

"In 10 years, we've seen just about everything hunting, mating, and being born," he said. "Sometimes we see young eagles or vultures in the nest just an arm's length away. We have had birds actually join us and perch on the edge of the basket."

Daniel Lesser, 10, remembers getting closer to wildlife in the balloon than he could have on the ground. "There was a lion about two feet away from us," he said. "We could have touched it, but we didn't." His favorite part of the balloon ride was the landing. "When we landed, we were going really fast. We slid and bumped on these ant mounds. I liked it a lot." Pascoe notes that his balloons, which seat either 12 or 16 passengers, are equipped with seats for take-off and landing and handles to hang on to.