Last year, AG went to the 29th annual Canberra Balloon Spectacular, listed as one of the top hot-air ballooning events in the world. Since its inception in 1986, the nine-day event has seen balloons of all shapes and sizes rise from the lawns of Old Parliament House and glide over the cityscape, carrying passengers above iconic landmarks. The next Canberra Balloon Spectacular will be held between 12–20 March 2016.
On a cold night on 18 June 1993 entrepreneur Dick Smith floated into the history books – making the first non-stop flight across Australia in a hot air balloon.
Australian Geographic’s founder Dick Smith and fellow balloonist John Wallington went down in history on 18 June 1993 – beating odds that seven other attempts failed to overcome – and became the first people to fly a hot air balloon across the Australian continent. The Australian crossing had been tried by many with no luck. In the end, however, their epic adventure was a little over 40 hours.