KEY POINTS:
Bumping along the dirt track, my fellow travellers and I were anticipating the thrill of watching the sun rise over the Serengeti plains from the basket of a hot air balloon.
Our pick-up from the campsite was 4.30am. Dark and cold. We were still wiping the sleep from our eyes when the headlights swept on to a lioness stalking a zebra from the side of the track. She didn't even flinch.
As soon as the lights shone on the zebra, she leapt on to its rump and brought it down into the long grass. Almost instantly, two lionesses strolled right beside our vehicle towards the kill.
Our guide was almost as excited as we were. He said lions can spend two to three days stalking their prey and some guides who had been working in the park for several years had never seen a kill.
Rounding a bend, we were stunned to find two lions mating in the middle of the track. Upon seeing us, the female lay down and stretched lazily while the male paced to and fro in front of the vehicle, obviously agitated. When he eyeballed us sticking out the roof of the pop-top truck, he looked like he was about to pounce.
Frantic yells from the guide ordered us to sit down and close the pop-top. No arguments there.
Our guide told us lions mate every 15 minutes for three to four days when in season and during that time they don't eat. I figured they must have been on day four, because the male looked buggered.
When the lions finally took their romancing elsewhere, we continued. In the darkness, we made out creatures galloping in our direction - hyenas planning to scavenge what would be left of the zebra. I was thinking how impressive their sense of smell must be when the truck braked, narrowly missing a mummy hippo and her baby crossing the road.
As the sun rose over the Serengeti, so did we. From our hot air balloon, red and orange hues spread across the horizon. The air was still crisp and the only sound was the phssst of the fire being released into the balloon.
The plains stretched for miles in all directions. We floated over topi, gazelles, two male lions and a lone giraffe. The balloon skimmed over treetops housing vultures and baboons and our pilot lowered us over a pod of hippos - one greeting us with a massive yawn.
However, the best sight of the morning was eight lionesses in a tree stalking buffalo below. The pilot lowered the balloon level with the tree, but not even the phssst distracted their attention from their prey.
How many people had experienced what I had in a few short hours? It certainly felt special to see wildlife in their natural surroundings, most not even realising we were observing them from our sanctuary in the sky.
If you've had a dream holiday or a travel nightmare you'd like to share, send the story to travel@nzherald.co.nz.
