Balloons Over Waikato: Croquet club landing after running low on gas – and wind

The balloon landed at the Claudelands Croquet Club while Thursday morning games were under way. Photo / Danielle Zollickhofer

Ballooning and croquet are not sports you would imagine would come together in the same space too often.

Which is why the sedate players at the Claudelands Croquet Club in a quiet Hamilton street were surprised and a little startled when a huge yellow hot air balloon landed on their carefully manicured lawns in the middle of their regular Thursday morning competition.

“Well that’s stuffed up our game,” was the wry comment of one senior player, while another was quite irate that the forced landing may damage their grass which is just coming right after recent flooding.

Aboard the balloon, named The Shiner, were father and son Matt and Hugh Ragg — recreational flyers from Queensbury in Wanaka taking part in the Balloons Over Waikato Festival for the second time.

Lots of little spectators were curious about what was going on in their neighbourhood. Photo / Danielle Zollickhofer

“We were running out of fuel and losing the wind, so decided to look for the nearest safe landing,” said dad Matt after skimming trees, rooftops and powerlines over Alfred St and Oxford St in Fairfield, Hamilton, after taking off from Innes Common beside Hamilton Lake.

“We planned to fly for two hours and land at Claudelands [Park] but there were some switchy winds down low,” said Matt, who runs property maintenance company Ragg Contracting Ltd.

“Balloons have no steering and we became becalmed in the cold air over the [Waikato] river. We still had about 25 per cent of fuel but the winds were too light.”

Balloon pilot Matt Ragg (back left) with his co-pilot and son Hugh Ragg (back right). Matt's wife Rachel Prendergast and their daughter Abbey Ragg were following the balloon in the pilot vehicle. Photo / Danielle Zollickhofer

The low-flying balloon attracted a small crowd of neighbourhood residents at about 9.30am — some still in pyjamas and dressing gowns. There was also a small throng of children who had the day off school because of the teachers’ strike.

“Well they have had a different education today,” observed Matt as he and Hugh worked to deflate the balloon without damaging the croquet lawns.

Their ground crew of Matt’s daughter Abbey Ragg and wife Rachel Prendergast were soon on the scene with their vehicle and trailer to help fold up the balloon and head off to fly another day, as the croquet players resumed their games.

The Shiner was forced to land after running low on fuel - and wind. Photo / Danielle Zollickhofer