Can I go hot air ballooning in the Hunter Valley?

Hot air ballooning in the Hunter Valley requires an early start, but floating above the vineyards and kangaroos is worth the bleary eyes. Balloon Aloft offers Hunter Valley hot air balloon tours.

The Hunter Valley, two hours north of Sydney, is one of Australia’s most famous wine regions. A few Hunter Valley craft breweries have sprung up in recent years, but the Hunter is mainly about the wine-tasting.

There’s no need to get up early for wine tasting. Many cellar doors don’t open until 10am, and wine-tasting tours rarely start before then. The Hunter Valley is one Australian destination where you can happily sleep in.

That is unless you’re planning to go hot air ballooning in the Hunter Valley. And it is one of the best places in Australia to take a hot air balloon flight.

Hunter Valley hot air balloon tours

Hunter Valley balloon tours leave early in the morning, when the weather conditions are most favourable. Balloon Aloft has a number of launch sites in the Hunter Valley, and the pilot chooses which to take off from based on wind direction. But the drive to the launch site takes place in the dark, with the aim of catching the sunrise as the balloon floats over the vineyards.

Vineyards have a habit of looking beautiful, whatever angle you look at them from. But from above, they look truly special. The vines make a patchwork of the landscape, laid out oh-so-precisely in their neat rows. In the Hunter Valley, they’re flanked by the Brokenback Range and complimented by clusters of gum trees.

Yet it’s what’s in the gap that gets the balloon passengers cooing. At dawn, the Hunter Valley’s kangaroos are at their most boisterously active. They unfurl their legs and tails to bounce along at surprisingly high speed. It’s indisputably worth getting up early for.

Hot air ballooning in the Hunter Valley: Duration and cost

If you go ballooning in the Hunter Valley, the scenic flight lasts approximately one hour. After a hopefully not-too-bumpy landing, Balloon Aloft includes a champagne breakfast at the Peterson House winery. The basic Hunter Valley ballooning tour cost $279 at time of writing. Other options for a morning adventure include Hunter Valley horse-riding tours.

Should you wish to try ballooning in another wine regions, check out Barossa Valley hot air balloon tours in South Australia.