Up up and away over New Zealand

Trust House Balloons over Wairarapa
19 - 21 March 2010

Balloons over Waikato - Hamilton
24 - 28 March 2010

As calm, autumn conditions over New Zealand create the ideal opportunity for balloonists to view golden landscapes from on high, two major ballooning events are preparing to take to the skies.

Two North Island regions - the Waikato and Wairarapa - have the flat terrain and climatic conditions conducive to hot air ballooning, and both are preparing for huge crowds at spectacular events.

Trust House Balloons over Wairarapa
For three days from 19 March the Wairarapa skies will come alive with weird and wonderful creations as 20 hot air balloons rise to the occasion in the Trust House Balloons festival.

Depending on weather conditions, there will be a mass lift-off early on the first day to launch the annual festival at Clareville showgrounds, in Carterton. That afternoon, the balloons will provide another spectacle when they gather at Wairarapa College for the school’s annual gala.

Later that evening a ‘burner parade’ will provide a fiery display as the pilots parade their baskets and burners along Carterton’s main street.

Splash ‘n Dash
The three-day festival action continues on 20 March at Henley Lake, Masterton, where balloons launch up-wind and attempt to score points by splashing their baskets into the water.

On Saturday evening the Trust House Night Glow evening is a family favourite where tethered balloons light up the night sky in a colourful display choreographed to music.

The Wairarapa festival ends on Sunday 21 March with a flight over Masterton - the venue decided once the wind direction has been ascertained.

Balloons over Waikato
Anyone in Hamilton looking skywards from 24 - 28 March is likely to witness some rather unusual flying objects - including a jack-in-the-box, a magic mushroom and a vibrant peacock.

The quirky shapes are some of the 35 hot air balloons confirmed to take part in the annual Balloons over Waikato festival expected to attract crowds of more than 130,000.

The 12-storey high ‘Jack N. D. Box’ balloon comes from the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, and will be piloted by American Colin Graham who’s taking part in the NZ festival for the first time.

He’ll be joined by another international entrant - ‘Shroom with a View’ is a 36.5m-tall, magic mushroom-shaped balloon from Sao Paulo.

Mass ascension
The Waikato event takes off early on 24 March with a mass ascension at Innes Common, beside Hamilton Lake in the heart of the city.

On 25 March the TVNZ Breakfast at Dawn event will see a selected number of balloons lift off before dawn, creating a magical glow as they fly into the dark. The rest of the fleet takes to the air as dawn breaks creating a spectacle televised nationwide on TVNZ’s breakfast programme.

Some balloons will fly out to the far reaches of the Waikato region as well as the neighbouring Matamata / Piako and Waipa districts on 26 March. That same night, the ‘Balloomin Madness’ parade in Hamilton parades the balloons through the city on moving floats.

The festival comes to a crescendo on Saturday evening when more than 80,000 people attend the popular ‘Nightglow’ event at Waikato University. The show is a dramatic visual display with the balloons firing in an orchestrated show with live music and fireworks.

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