aussie balloon trek

We travelled from Albury NSW in May 2013 to explore the Orange and Canowindra region. On the way we visited the Cowra Japanese gardens which I also highly recommend. Al and Chris were the perfect hosts during our hot air balloon flight and although it was our first experience we were absolutely delighted!The care, expertise and safety standards that are followed at every step of the process impressed my husband and I and the pilot never ever took his eyes off the flight path or the child who was in the basket with us, he seemed to have eyes in the back of his head!He even thanked the landholder where we landed with a bottle of bubbly ;)The scenery was stunning and the sensation of weightless flight is amazing... definitely one for everyone's bucket list!The ground crew kept us in their sights at all times and after a very soft landing we were picked up and taken for a yummy breakfast!Any responsible hot air balloon pilot will not fly unless the conditions are perfect, and this must be understood right from the start, we were lucky and only had to delay our flight by one day :)I'd recommend Aussie Balloontrek to anyone.

I was very excited to receive a voucher from my husband for my birthday in January 2012 for  a flight and breakfast package valued at approximately $500 and couldn't wait for my first balloon ride. Unfortunately my whole experience in dealing with Aussie Balloon Trek has been very disappointing. We have attempted to book our flight on numerous occasions with the company only to have the flight either cancelled because there was not another couple available to fly with us or the weather was not conducive to flying (i understand that this is completely out of the control of the company). At one point after being repeatedly told there was no other couple to fly with us a representative of the company informed that they would call us when there was another couple. We received a call at the last minute the weekend our son was being baptised and explained that we were not available. After that call we were not called again. We were informed that our voucher was valid for 12 months which doesn't mean you have 12 months to fly as the season only runs from March to September (again due to weather conditions that are out of the companies control). When we again tried to call to book our flights we were advised that there was only one weekend left of the season so we booked that weekend and again it was cancelled due to weather. As this voucher is now almost 2 years old we were initially advised that it was no longer valid even though the representative from the company acknowledged that we had made "every effort to redeem the voucher". My husband requested a refund on the voucher given the significant cost of the package. This request was immediately denied and we were advised that there was "no refund of vouchers and we should have read the conditions".  I was advised however that if i was "moving overseas or had had a death in my family" they would have considered a refund. I found this rather confusing and asked if she meant if i had had a family member die rather than had my son baptised on the weekend she called me to offer a flight she would have refunded the voucher?  The representative from the company then told me I was being silly and i was still left baffled by her comments. After advising the representative of the company that i intended to take the matter to the Department of Fair Trading (which I have) I was advised that they would extend the expiry date on the voucher for another 12 months. That would be lovely if i didn't feel sick to my stomach recalling our dealings with the owners of this company and how could i possibly enjoy this experience with my husband given the awful conversations we have had. I would recommend flying with one of the larger more reputable companies that regularly fly in Canowindra.

In our 45 min balloon flight over Canowindra, we were treated to some beautiful views of the fields, farms and NSW countryside! And topped it up with Chris' delicious breakfast!The hot-air balloon ride is not exactly an adrenaline-filled joyride, but is thrilling in its own way. The entire "event", right from preparing the balloon for a flight to packing it up again, followed by the breakfast, is quite an experience that lasts for about 3 hours. And if you get a bumpy landing, then it adds to the adventure. Its quite interesting to understand the dynamics of flying a hot-air balloon. Unfortunately, the whole experience is highly weather-dependent, and we had our trip cancelled a few times before. On one occasion, it was cancelled on the morning of the flight! So if you are driving a long distance to get here, plan accordingly and be prepared for such cancellations. During early October, the fields around this part of the country are rife with yellow canola flowers, that make it picturesque. I m sure the rest of the year, too, may be adding its own colours to the landscape. And when you are back after seeing some lovely views of Canowindra and doing a bit of manual labour packing up the balloon, you mostly certainly develop a good appetite. And nothing seems better than the great bbq breakfast that Chris has put together. In the meanwhile, as is the tradition, Alan opens a bottle of champagne. To start off, orange juice with champagne and cheese with crackers, followed by sausages, bacon and egg on toast with some lovely homemade tomato sauce, then a hearty helping of traditional Australian damper with homemade cream and jam, and finally a cup of tea/coffee to wash it all down is a dream breakfast for me!All-in-all, Chris and Alan make great hosts, and if the weather gods are with you, then flying in their balloon is an experience of a lifetime!