Day 2 - Ballooning at dawn and a cappella at a desert oasis

Sunday 15 September

Got out of bed at 4:30am to catch the sunrise in a hot air balloon. Great views of the desert and spectacular sunrise. They had thoughtfully arranged for one of the 2 daily freight trains to go past so saw that from above as well. A young woman riding in the balloon with us got a surprise marriage proposal via big sign on the ground just after take off. She said Yes. Sooo romantic! Her boyfriend now fiancé told us later he was ready to jump out of the balloon if she said no. Glad that didn’t happen. The balloon ride was a Janet bucket list item courtesy of all the kids - thanks!








At noon we left for Ormiston Gorge about 130km from Alice. It’s a well known swimming hole although pretty depleted at the moment as there’s only been 7mm of rain in the last 12 months. It was “uninviting” for swimming by NZ standards but some of the locals went in anyway.
But the main reason for visiting was to see A Cappella in the Desert, a concert by various choirs from Australia, Soweto, and Vanuatu. A pretty good show in a unique setting. We were there for about 5 hours in the hot sun. Got back around 7:30 and indulged in KFC ( first time for many years) as we were too dusty/filthy/smelly after the days exertions for much else! A great day!





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