Full of hot air

Avid blog readers will recall that I joined a global business networking organization called Entrepreneur’s Organisation (EO) last year. The organization prides itself on providing once-in-a-lifetime experiences for its members. I enjoyed one such moment yesterday.

Twice a year my EO forum group holds a retreat to share business knowledge, learn from guest speakers, and bond with one another. This week we flew to Melbourne for a two-day visit that included team-building activities and some memorable meals (Chin Chin, Culter & Co, and Supernatural), plus two very different, but equally compelling, business speakers. One presenter spoke about building a multi-million-dollar AI software company while the other shared his journey building a successful multi-million dollar healthcare company.

Yesterday morning we rose before dawn to take a hot air balloon flight over Melbourne City. This is my second time in a hot air balloon. My first flight was in 1997 when I shouted my parents a flight for Dad’s birthday. The flight took us over farmland in Camden, in Sydney's southwest.  That's us mid-flight in the image above.

When a Melbourne flight was first mooted, I was surprised that hot air balloons flew over such a major urban centre. We later learned that several unique factors make it possible. First, none of Melbourne’s major airports are close to the city, and thus hot air balloons don’t interrupt aviation flight paths. Second, an unusually large number of parklands and green spaces are conveniently scattered across the city. This means plenty of options for landing a balloon safely in an emergency, or if the wind's direction unexpectedly changes.

Our group flew with Global Ballooning. According to their website they’ve been flying people over Melbourne for more than three decades. We met our pilot at the Pullman Hotel in central Melbourne shortly after 5:00am. Outside were two minivans towing long trailers, each loaded with a hot air balloon, a wicker cabin, and propane gas bottles. 

After an initial briefing, we drove through the night to Bundoora Park Farm located in the city’s northeast. We then spent the next 45 minutes preparing our balloon for flight. This included pulling the balloon fabric into a long streamer, inflating it with a blower fan, and then finally heating the air ready for ascent. Before lifting off, the balloon crew went through the normal safety procedures including rather dramatic a bent knee landing posture.

We finally lifted off at about 6:14am, just as the morning twilight lit up the sky. We couldn’t have picked a better day to fly. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, dawn temperatures were mild, and winds were gentle. Our flight lasted an hour, give or take literally one minute. We flew almost directly south passing surprisingly close to Melbourne’s CBD before landing in Caulfield Racecourse around 7:14am.

The flight was magic. The silence as you drift along in the wind is wonderfully serene. The sunrise was stunning. The city simply dazzled in the dawn light. We were also one of four balloons flying which made the experience all the more awe-inspiring as each balloon rose and descended along the way.

The balloon company's sponsorship program was an interesting business strategy. Each sponsor pays $150,000 to get the balloon's fabric envelope made. The company flies their sponsored envelope for five years, guaranteeing a minimum of one hundred flights a year. It then continues to fly the fabric at no additional cost until it's retired or replaced. David Jones sponsors the balloon we flew. If you ask me, getting someone else to fund your primary asset is an inspired business idea.   

Our landing was a little dramatic. We quickly learned why we’d been taught to brace against the padded sides of the basket cabin. Surface winds around the racecourse were a little brisk. This meant that as we landed, we bounced a few times and then dragged along the ground for 20-30 metres before coming to rest unceremoniously on our side.

After helping the crew pack down the balloon, we returned to the Pullman Hotel for a hearty buffet breakfast and a much-needed morning coffee. All in all, it was a truly memorable, once-in-a-lifetime experience.  Even better, the pilot shared GoPro images taken during our flight at no extra cost.

Cook Islands finale

We’ve just returned from our tropical vacation in the Cook Islands. Rarotonga proved to be incredibly laid back. It was a more rustic version of Fiji that slowly grew on us as the days passed. Sadly, the blustery trade winds discouraged a lot of outdoor activity. As a result. we did very little most days beyond reading, eating and drinking cocktails in our comfortably appointed villa.

The wind did calm down on our final day giving us a chance to enjoy the sun and finish our holiday dining under the stars on a hillside outdoor deck at Antipodes.  This venue was a real find. Alongside The Little Polynesian, it was easily the best restaurant we ate at during our entire vacation.

We also took time out to enjoy a few established Rarotongan traditions. This included lunch and cocktails overlooking the ocean at Trader Jack’s, a local institution on the island’s north side. This was then followed by dinner that evening at Tamarind House, a "fine dining" venue by the beach on the island’s north side. 

The cocktails were better at Jack's, while the Ika Mata was excellent at Tamarind House. Ika Mata is a local delicacy consisting of fresh raw fish marinated in coconut milk and served with plenty of finely diced accouterments including cucumber, spring onions, chili, ginger, and fresh herbs.

Then, at the opposite end of the scale, we gave the Muri Night Market a go last Sunday evening. The market is basically a series of food hawker stalls. Garry tracked down a giant plate of BBQ ribs and I enjoyed some amazing BBQ prawns. After dining, we decided to walk 3.6 kms back to our villa.  

This was one of four lengthy post-meal walks we took while on the island. Our other excursions included walking to and from dinner at The Little Polynesian (about 750 metres each way) on our first night, plus a walk along the beach after brunch at LBV Cafe & Bakery on our first day (at least 3.5 kms), and a walk home from Charlie's bar (1.1 kms) after returning from Aitutaki.  We also took the resort's e-bikes for a spin one day and rode to Wigmore's Supermarket to restock our pantry (a very easy 3.5 km ride with turbo battery assistance!).

We did hire a car for our final three days on the island.  This gave us a chance to explore Rarotonga's northern shores and enjoy some of its more far-flung popular tourist venues. Far flung is a relative term as it takes little more than 45 minutes to drive around the island at a posted speed limit of 50km/h. Although, I must admit we didn't really make full use of the vehicle. For example, I'd planned to visit the island's museum, among other things, but we ultimately never made it there.

Before we flew to Rarotonga, sister-in-law Shelley McGregor recommended that we try Island Platters. This local catering company delivered a stunning mixed platter to our villa on Saturday night. The food was sublime, and its initial presentation on two separate platters was an experience all of its own. I’ll let the photo above tell the story.

Finally, we squeezed in a couple of cultural experiences. This included an evening at the Te Vara Nui dance spectacular, a slightly cliché evening of island dancing and music. The show took place on a stage set in the middle of an elongated pond where dancers performed while rafts carrying traditionally dressed warriors glided by.

However, the coolest cultural experience unfolded on our last day. The coconut tree trimmer came by to remove a burgeoning clutter of coconuts from a tree directly outside our villa. It was awesome watching him first shimmy up the truck and then go to work carefully removing coconuts one bunch at a time. Once the tree was bare, his friendly assistant cracked open a few nuts for us to enjoy refreshing glasses of coconut water.

The following morning we departed for the airport shortly after 6:15am. It also happened to be my birthday. The immigration officer at the airport made a note of the date and wished me a happy birthday. Our 7.5-hour Jetstar flight home departed shortly after 9:00 a.m. and passed uneventfully.  However, we crossed the dateline and thus landed at lunchtime the following day.  Without a doubt, it's the shortest birthday I've ever experienced.

Aitutaki

They say Aitutaki is a tropical paradise. Garry and I couldn’t agree more. We’ve just completed a day trip to this remote tropical atoll. I’ve always wanted to visit Aitutaki after seeing stunning images of its iridescent aquamarine lagoon. It’s honestly the kind of stuff Hollywood movies are made from. Hence, it’s no surprise that many popular reality television shows and multiple movies have indeed been filmed here.

Air Rarotonga has been operating day trips to the idyllic Aitutaki atoll for more than a decade. The tour kicks off with an airport transfer at 7:00am, followed by a quick 40-minute flight 260 kms north across the South Pacific. Once on the ground, you’re taken on an hour-long tour of the main island in an open-sided tour truck, before boarding a double-hull catamaran. The remainder of the day is then spent cruising from one palm-clad islet to the next along the eastern rim of Aitutaki’s 50 square kilometre lagoon.

For Garry and I, our day trip began in a less than promising way. We woke to cool, overcast, and windy conditions outside. Not an ideal scenario for spending time on a remote tropical island. However, while the weather looked rather bleak in Rarotonga, the forecast for Aitutaki promised mainly sunny skies. We could only hope!

Our airport transfer pulled up outside the resort right on schedule. However, our flight was running 15 minutes late giving us plenty of time to enjoy the antics of a flock of chickens wandering through the open-air departure hall. I can honestly say Rarotonga is the first, and only, airport I’ve visited that offers a live chicken show.

Our flight landed shortly before 9:00am. As promised, the weather on Aitutaki was almost perfect. Just the odd passing cloud, with shirt sleeve temperatures. Sadly, the trade winds followed us from Rarotonga. Thankfully, our tour guides did a superb job of finding sheltered locations throughout the day so the unrelenting wind never spoilt our experience.

Our flight path into the island was a real highlight. The pilot took us on a circuit around the lagoon’s western flank giving us a spectacular view of the entire island. The lagoon looked simply impeccable from the air. Although, once on the ground, I was surprised to discover just how hilly the main island is. Its maximum elevation, Maunga Pu, is approximately 123 metres high and marks the northernmost point of an undulating ridge traversing two-thirds of the main island.

Our truck tour was fascinating, to say the least. We drove past sandy shoals cratered by land crab burrows, a bustling port undergoing refurbishment, and several picturesque white-clad churches. Our tour occurred coincidentally on the same day the resupply freighter was in town. As a result, we got to see the locals taking the island’s cargo barge out to the ship anchored just beyond the reef.

According to Wikipedia, the first known European contact in Aitutaki was with Captain Bligh and the crew of HMS Bounty. They arrived at the island on 11 April 1789, a week before the infamous mutiny. Today, almost 40,000 people visit the island every year making tourism the largest contributor to the local economy.

Shortly before 10:30am, our tour group boarded a twin-hull catamaran, called Titi Ai Tonga, for a leisurely 5.5 hour tour of the lagoon. We made four stops during day. The first of these took us to Akaiami Motu. In the 1950s this islet’s sheltered western shore was used for a two-hour refueling stop by TEAL (Tasman Empire Airways Limited) flying boats on the famous Coral Route. These operations ceased in 1960. Today, the only remnant of this golden era is a rather degraded purpose-built coral jetty which our catamaran used as a temporary wave break.

While the Coral Route brought Aitutaki global recognition, its seaplane port isn’t the island’s oldest airport. During the Second World War, New Zealand and American forces actually built two airstrips on the main island. They were part of a chain of airfields established to keep supply routes open as the Japanese advanced across the Pacific. As a result, with support from the locals, Cook Island’s first airport was duly completed on 14 November 1942. 

From here it was on to Moturakau, an islet used for filming by numerous reality television shows. Our tour guide shared plenty of quirky anecdotes about these short-term visitors and their fleeting, multimillion-dollar, contribution to Aitutaki’s economy. Although, for me, this motu’s most memorable highlight was its soaring flocks of pure white terns.

We then relocated to a third island to enjoy a popular snorkeling spot. Garry spent 15-20 minutes exploring the coral reef. However, I found the choppy and windy conditions a bit too hair-raising and gave up after 5 minutes.

The remainder of our lagoon tour was spent on the shores of Tapuaetai (One Foot Island), a small islet in the south-east of the lagoon. This Instagram-perfect location is considered the Cook Island’s premier attraction. It offers exceptional views of the lagoon and features frequently in the nation’s tourism advertising. Garry and went swimming in its aquamarine shoals, being careful to avoid an endless cavalcade of sea cucumbers and the occasional zebrafish.

Our day tour ended with a final stop at the Boatshed Bar where we enjoyed a leisurely Mojito in the shade. This cosy venue is located by the beach, a few hundred metres beyond the southern end of the airport runway. Shortly after 5:15pm we boarded our return flight for a bumpy, but otherwise uneventful, trip back to Rarotonga. 

Garry and I decided to finish the day with a local tradition. We asked our airport transfer driver to drop us off at Charlie’s, a popular beachside establishment. This bar, about 1.2kms from our resort, is renowned for its enormous burgers and live music. We ultimately spent a couple of hours here, sheltering from the howling wind, entertained by an island band, a Hulu dancer, and a bucket of cold beers. By the time we’d walked home, I was well and truly ready for bed.