The Canberra Balloon Spectacular kicked off last weekend with a host of fun balloons leading the parade.
A giant football, a pirate parrot and a huge sky-whale are among the highlights of the festival, which will see more than 30 balloons take to the skies over the Australian capital.
The nine day spectacular will see hot air balloons from all over the world take off from Old Parliament House, before soaring through the skies, taking in some of the most important sights that Canberra has to offer.
Speaking about the event, Richard Gillespie, the chief pilot of balloon Aloft, said:
“I’ve flown at a lot of different places across Australia and around the world but I think Canberra is one of the best places I’ve flown. It’s such an attractive city with the lake, the parks and the hills and the mountains around Canberra. It’s unusual to be able to fly over a capital city.”
His company is one of many that is offering regular flights throughout the festival.
The big draw of the event is, however, the many novelty balloons that have made their way to the festival this year. It is hoped that the balloons, along with free breakfasts every morning, will make the event one of the biggest spectaculars in recent times.
Whether the balloons can take to the air each day will depend on the weather conditions, with this being decided each morning at 6am. Visitors are advised to check before heading to the festival, which will continue to run until the 16th March.
