Byron Bay Sunrise Hot Air Balloon Flight with Breakfast

Australia's easternmost corner gets the sun before the rest of the mainland does, and this flight is timed to be in the air when it happens. Take-off is at first light over the Byron Bay region, with open water on the horizon and nothing standing between the basket and it. That is what the flight is sold on: being the first to watch the sun come up over the Australian mainland, and doing it from the air. No two mornings run the same line. The launch site is picked on the day to suit the wind, so the route is settled by conditions and not by a plan. Some flights sit over the ocean. Others push inland across the hinterland and the farm country around Bangalow, Mullumbimby, Nimbin and Lismore. Nobody can tell you which one you are getting until the morning itself. Crew are happy to let passengers help with inflating the balloon before take-off and packing it away after landing, if you want the job. It is heavier work than it looks. Breakfast follows at Three Blue Ducks at The Farm in Byron Bay, a property of 80 acres where the kitchen builds its menu around local ingredients and produce, and it is part of the ticket.