At around 04h30 my alarm went off in my luxurious hotel room. Not that it really needed to; I had been awake most of the night already, tossing and turning with trepidation of the adventure I had found myself mixed up in this morning. Let me make it quite clear, I am by no means an adrenalin junkie of any sorts. Heights terrify me and the thought of standing on the third run of a ladder is sometimes enough to send me into a mild panic. Why then had I bravely said ,"I'll do it " when my travel partner suggested a hot air balloon ride a few nights earlier on our trip to South Africa? Now I knew why she had insisted on a sport travel insurance policy for our African trip - she knew that hot air balloon operators won't allow you enjoy a flight with them without it and she had this planned all along!

Without managing to find a way out of what I had convinced myself would be my impending doom, I sat very quietly in the comfortable safari vehicle which picked us up as the sun was barely starting to peak over the horizon. If it hadn't been for the pride of lions we spotted while driving to our launch site in the centre of the Pilansberg Game Reserve, I may have jumped out of the moving vehicle and made a run for it. Luckily my bravery (and possibly ego and fear of wild lion prides) kept me in the vehicle and I began to enjoy the surroundings: the wild animals and the fresh scents of an early African morning.

We eventually arrived and were introduced to our pilot for the morning, though I was still not convinced after our quick safety briefing where I was assured I would make it out alive by the pilot. Without further ado, I climbed into the wicker basket (which didn't help calm me I might add) and with a few blasts of the gas cylinders, we began to rise and rise. At first, yours truly stood as deadly still as possible, afraid that the slightest movement would cause us to drop out of the sky like a hail stone. As we began to drift silently, with occasional bursts of hot air from the gas cylinders every now and then, I eased up. Gathering up all my courage, I peered over the edge of our basket.

The site truly was something to behold. Directly below us, a herd of zebra, with some giraffe and elephant, were at a waterhole having their morning drink, with the African sun beginning to rise in the east - it was the most magnificent site I have ever seen. Before we knew it, we had been up in the air for ages and began to make our descent. With a gentle thud we landed in a savanna area where we were treated to the hot air balloon tradition of sparkling wine, before being whisked away to a game lodge for an amazing breakfast.

While the other guests sat around talking about the experience, I sat quietly thinking. As I stared from the balcony out onto the herds of animals in the distance, the sun really started to shine. I must have sighed out loud, because at that moment, our pilot from earlier stood next to me with a mug of coffee and staring out at the distance with me said, "another day in Africa." Yes, but definitely not just another normal day in my lifetime.