Sky High Scenery over Wadi Rum

Waking up as the sun peeked above the horizon, a few select intrepid adventurers jumped in our jeeps for a scenic hot air balloon ride over the Wadi Rum desert. Leaving the camp, our driver tracked down the balloon seemingly in the middle of nowhere. 

This was my first time in a hot air balloon. And I was silently freaking out inside. And maybe a little outside... After climbing in the basket and meeting our captain, we very gently began to ascend. Now I scored a prime spot on the edge of the basket by the captain, but it also meant the flame was right above my head. It was so hot I had to check that my hair wasn’t on fire a couple of times. 

Not on fire and I’m helping! 

Up and up we went - to 3,309 feet! Gazing out it was incredible desert mountains as far as the eye could see in all directions. The captain said Wadi Rum is 200 square kilometres. 

I was surprised at how quickly the balloon could ascend and descend. My ears kept popping. 

After an hour of serenely floating and circling, we gently set down in the sand. As we cruised close to the ground, I noticed all sorts of tracks in the sand - fox, rabbit, lizard, and possibly snake. 

The captain then regaled me with a story of finding a horned viper in the sand. They are very venomous and lightning quick. So of course he and his crew poked it with a stick and took a video. I like the way this captain operates. 

I asked about predatory birds in the desert and the captain told me how there used to be quite a few eagles and falcons in the mountains, but there is a big market for the birds in Saudi Arabia. One bird can net upwards of $15,000 Jordanian Dinar (just shy of $30,000 Canadian). Due to poaching, there are few birds left in the wild. The captain knows where there are a couple nests, but won’t tell anyone where they are or take tourists there. Now I really like how the captain operates. 

Piling back in the Jeep, we raced across the desert back to base camp for a quick breakfast before rolling out for the Red Sea.