Hunter Valley
Balloon Fiesta

The annual Balloon Aloft Hunter Valley Balloon Fiesta will take to the skies over the Hunter Valley from the 29th September to 2nd October in an amazing display of colour and excitement! Each day sees upward of twenty-five hot air balloons from all around the country launch together at sunrise and float majestically over the Hunter Valley wine country. Come join in the excitement as a passenger or follow along from the ground.

The best way to view the hot air balloon festival is definitely as passengers on board one of the twenty or more balloons that will take to the skies at sunrise each morning.  You can book your space on one of our fiesta flights for the experience of a life time; the excitement begins just before dawn as more than twenty hot air balloons are inflated in the launch field - make sure to have your camera ready, it's quite the spectacle - then take off and drifting over the Hunter Valley vineyards for an hour in the company of a fleet of hot air balloons. Celebrations continue after the flight back at Peterson House Winery with live music, a gourmet breakfast and a champagne tasting to wrap up an exciting and fun-filled morning.

For the very first time we will be adding a new evening feature to the Fiesta calendar – the Hunter Valley Night Glow. Being held on the evening of Saturday 30th September at Roche Estate, the evenings activities will include a family friendly night market showcasing some of the Hunter Valley's best food and wine, live musical performances, the opportunity to walk through a semi-inflated hot air balloon and learn how a balloon operates. Face painting and activities to entertain younger children will be on offer, while a mini balloon flight display is sure to delight everyone. The highlight of the night will be the balloon Night Glow where nine hot air balloons will light up the night sky, all choreographed to music. This breathtaking spectacle will culminate with a fireworks display over Roche Estate.

Photographer & Spectator Information

Meeting Time: 4:30am sharp Friday & Saturday, 5:30am sharp Sunday & Monday. Please remember that Day Light Savings begins at 2am on Sunday morning.

Where: Peterson House which is located on the corner of Broke Road and Wine Country Drive, Pokolbin.

What to do when you arrive: Please note we will be flying around 100 passengers each day of the fiesta and these passengers will be busy checking in for their flight. To avoid any confusion on the day, please identify yourself to one of our event coordinators wearing the pink vests for further instructions.

Drive to Launch Location: Following the briefing and our Senior Pilot’s briefing to passengers, we will drive in convoy to our chosen launch location. This will be dictated by the direction of the wind that morning so will not be known prior to the day.

Once at the launch location please follow the Event Co-Ordinator’s instructions to park your vehicle in the area designated for the general public. Only Balloon Aloft and our private balloon pilots’ vehicles will be allowed to drive on to the launch site for safety reasons.

Access to the Launch Site: Once you have parked your vehicle in the appropriate area, please feel free to walk onto the launch site so you can begin taking photographs of the balloons inflating. The inflation and launch of our 30+ balloons is always a spectacular sight and will no doubt provide some stunning photographic opportunities.

NB. Our Balloon Aloft Support Crew will be wearing yellow vests. Please follow any directions they might give you on the day in regards to safety when moving around the launch site area.

During the Fiesta: Once the balloons are in the air you will be able to follow along from the ground in your vehicles. The Support Crew are in radio contact with the Balloon Pilot and will have the best idea of where they will be landing so follow along the designated crew vehicle on the morning for the best viewing and photographic opportunities. Please remember to take due care when pulling off or onto the road.

Please follow our Balloon Aloft Hunter Valley Fiesta or Balloon Aloft Facebook page for updates throughout the morning and for details (as we receive them) on where our pilots are proposing to land.

Landing Location:  Once at the landing location, please wait for the OK from the Balloon Aloft Support Crew to proceed on to the landing site – please remember that this may be private property. Once you have the Ok from the Support Crew, please feel free to walk onto the site so you can photograph the balloons as they come in to land.

Social Media: Please #balloonaloft, #balloonaloftfiesta and #huntervalleyballoonfiesta with any photos you would like to share on social media.

We are looking forward to seeing your there and hope you have a wonderful time following our 2017 Hunter Valley Balloon Fiesta.

For more information on this unique Hunter Valley event please call our team on 1300 723 279