WORTH THE 2AM WAKEUP CALL: HOT AIR BALLOONING IN CAIRNS

The alarm was set for 2am and we could barely open our eyes as we rolled out of bed ready for our next Cairns adventure. We were here travelling with Stephen's Mum, who has had for the longest time hot air ballooning at the top of her bucket list - and this would be the day she could finally cross it off!

The family were in the car by 3am, ready for the drive out of Port Douglas to the Atherton Tablelands - where take off was located. This is the highland region of northern Australia with the landscape a mix of rainforest, wetlands and savanna.

As the sun rose we watched as the gigantic balloons slowly grew until they were towering over us. Beautiful colours of orange and red from the sunrise bounced off the hot air balloons and we started to forget about the early wake up and excitement grew to get in the air!

Captain Bob yelled out to us that it was time to go and one by one we jumped in the hot air balloon and before we knew it we were floating up into the air. We were greeted with incredible views as we watched fellow hot air ballooners pass by.

There's really no experience quite like hot air ballooning. From the smooth take off and panoramic views, to the tranquility and calmness you feel while watching the world come to light - it's a way we would love to experience each destination we travel to!

Being able to experience this adventure with Stephen's family made it all the more special. Watching their excitement as we flew high above the ground, with kangaroos jumping below was the cherry on top of our morning.

A hot air ballon ride over Atherton Tablelands will cost you $250 for a half and hour flight with Hot Air Balloons Cairns. We highly recommend waking up at the crack of dawn and crossing this YOLO moment off your bucket list!

As always, we filmed our experience. You can watch our hot air balloon ride in the video below. For more adventures head on over to our YouTube channel for daily videos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jes_sDIvR8s&t=1s

Where should we experience hot air ballooning next?

Thanks to Hot Air Balloons Cairns for inviting Flying The Nest to experience a flight over Cairns. As always, all opinions are our own.

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