Canberra balloon rides: Price and why bother getting up early?

Hot air ballooning in Canberra is expensive. But the Australian capital’s unique planned layout make Canberra balloon rides pretty special.

“We’ll tell you where we’re going after we get there,” says the pilot. “It’s all dependent on the winds.”

It is outrageously early in the morning. But the balloon is about to rise from a field just a couple of miles away from Australia’s Parliament House. Behind are cows; nearby on the swampy edges of Lake Burley Griffin are nosy swans; bounding between trees are kangaroos, at their perkiest in the dawn light.

This all feels far from a big city, let alone a national capital. Canberra, a four hour train journey from Sydney or seven hour drive from Melbourne, was always borrowed from the bush.

Why is Canberra Australia’s capital?

When Australia federated in 1901, a new capital city was needed. Mainly as a compromise between the power-hungry bickerers in Sydney and Melbourne. After inspecting various sites in rural New South Wales, Canberra was eventually chosen. It was, however, little more than a few sheep farming estates at the time.

It was a blank slate. That’s what makes taking a balloon flight over the city far more interesting than it would be elsewhere. Most cities grow haphazardly with the occasional guiding hand from a planner. But Canberra has grown into the plan laid out by competition winning architect Walter Burley-Griffin.

Hot air ballooning in Canberra: Seeing the pattern

There’s something tremendously, endearingly geeky about seeing an artificially-created city such as Canberra from the air. Suddenly, all the interlocking circles and very deliberate straight lines start to make sense.

The two main bridges over the lake suddenly become a distinct triangle, one pointing at the Duntroon Military College, the other at Canberra’s civic centre. Follow the lines the other way, however, and they point to Parliament House.

Sights on Canberra balloon rides

It’s also possible to spot other patterns. From Parliament House, the eye is drawn directly down the monument-flanked Anzac Parade, to the Australian War Memorial and the peak of Mt Ainslie. You can also spot the National Capital Exhibition in Commonwealth Park.

As the balloon glides gently over the city, it looks less like a real place and more like one of those children’s play mats – far too organised to be real. But the gentle hills of the Australian Capital Territory surrounding the city – they soon grow higher and become the Australian Alps – just add that touch of non-fiction. On the horizon are the Namadgi National Park, the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex and Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve.

Hot air ballooning in Canberra: Yarralumla embassies

The balloon drifts on the wind over Yarralumla, the somewhat exclusive area of Canberra where the international embassies and consulates cluster. Here, again, Canberra is unusual, as it has encouraged countries to build their embassies in a style that reflects their traditions. So China’s embassy has pagoda-style roofs, Papua New Guinea’s consulate has a lavishly decorative front-facing triangle on top of the building, and the Finnish embassy is all sleek Nordic design.

From the skies, of course, you get to see the little extras. The US embassy’s red brick mansion has a rather nice pool outside, it seems.

The balloon continues over the blackened tree stumps on hillsides – victims of bushfires over recent years that will slowly recover to be more healthy and fruitful than they were before – and on to suburbia. Dogs are spooked in the back gardens of family homes and start barking at the large unidentified monster above.

The ride eventually comes to a bumping halt in a playing field a few miles to the west of the city centre. Again, it all seems very low key; the opposite of the bright lights and snarling traffic you’d expect in a major city. But that, of course, shows that Canberra is going to plan.

Canberra hot air balloon flight cost

There’s no question about it – hot air ballooning in Canberra is expensive. With Balloon Aloft, weekday flights cost $330 for adults, and weekend flights cost $380. Add another $40 if you want breakfast thrown in. But if you are going to go hot air ballooning in Australia, this is probably the best place to do it. That said, Balloon Aloft also offers good balloon flights in the Hunter Valley. Another option is hot air ballooning in the Barossa Valley, South Australia.

Australia Parliament House from hot air balloon — Australia’s Parliament House in Canberra, as seen from a hot air balloon. Photo by David Whitley/ Australia Travel Questions

The distinctive planned nature of Canberra plays a major part in this – you can see the design from above. But you can also float across the centre in a way that would be heavily restricted elsewhere.

Speaking of things that are heavily restricted elsewhere, the Australian Capital Territory is the only part of Australia where cannabis is partially decriminalised…