Zircon Balloon Team - Australia

21/08/2026

The Landing. 🏁🎈
Historic flight over Lake Eyre.

After 3 hours and 38 minutes flying solo across Lake Eyre, the final kilometres turned into a race against the weather.

The wind had been pushing us hard and, for a while, this landing looked like it was going to be a very long drag. Then, almost perfectly, the wind eased just before our target.

We landed within metres of the planned intersection after covering approximately 180 km, with speeds reaching 75 km/h (40 knots).

Meanwhile, our champion ground crew had driven around 3½ hours, hammering across dirt roads and 4WD tracks to intercept us. They only beat us there by minutes.

And the weather wasn’t waiting.

A low-pressure trough coming in from the southwest brought a deluge big enough to shut down outback South Australia. Roads were turning to mud, creek crossings were rising, and we had to pack up quickly before getting stuck. We only just made it off the famous Oodnadatta Track before it closed to all traffic.

That’s the part you don’t see from the balloon.

The people on the ground, chasing us through some of the most remote country in Australia — supporting launch and landing, maintaining communication throughout the flight, overcoming whatever the road threw at them, and keeping their eyes firmly on the target and weather.

Ground crew:
Steve Timmis
Grant & Di Brown
Adam Timmis
Roger Mills
Scarlet Saunders
Deano Pegg
Lilly
Lisa

Also Cherie Gowers at home, taking on more so I can break away. ❤️

And to Kiff and Pato, flying alongside me in the other balloon — what a bloody adventure.

If you’re in Melbourne, the Yarra Valley or Mansfield and want to see Victoria from a balloon, go fly with these legends at Global Ballooning Australia. You won’t regret it.

This flight was never just about crossing Lake Eyre. It was about the people, the planning, the weather, the chase — and getting the balloon back on the ground.

180 km. 3:38. 75 km/h. Landing within metres.

What a way to finish it. 🎈🇦🇺

16/08/2026

The Launch:
Historic flight over Lake Eyre, South Australia, with friends Kiff and Pato from Global Ballooning Australia in the other balloon.

This launch got pretty interesting, with the wind increasing faster than our forecasting could have reasonably predicted, largely due to the limited weather resources available in the Australian outback, and the low pressure trough coming in from the south west, which later shutdown outback South Australia.

Before and during the launch, we were seeing gusts around 15 knots (28 km/h). As a result, there was a last-minute decision to have a backup tie-off strap in case we busted the launch rope prematurely. Thanks for the strap Kiff and Pato. 👍🏼
Another last minute decision was tying off the inflation tank to prevent any strain on the burner hose. The tie off needs work for a quicker release, but the decision was right.

Why an inflation tank, and why drop it?

The aim was to preserve the gas in the basket purely for the flight, but also there was not enough lift capacity to carry the additional tank. So the tank had to stay behind.

This is one of the challenges of flying a smaller balloon when you need to cover a lot of distance with some margin for error.

Flight winds change speed and direction. Plans change mid-flight. Gas usage and efficiency change with altitude.

There’s a lot more to it than simply getting the balloon off the ground and pointing it in the right direction.

And sometimes, the launch itself is the first challenge of the flight.
Fortunately we had a great team of people on the ground that that assisted a safe fast launch.
Each of them visible in this video.

Ground team:
Steve Timmis
Grant and Di Brown
Adam Timmis
Roger Mills
Scarlet Saunders
Deano Pegg

And also on the team, Cherie Gowers holding fort at home, doing extra so I had the freedom to chase a dream. 🫶🏼

14/08/2026

You’ve probably seen the pictures.

But here’s what it was actually like sitting in a balloon, alone, above a full Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre.

There was a lot of planning, weather watching and waiting behind this flight.

And once I was actually up there, it was hard to believe I was looking down at Lake Eyre like this.

I’ve got heaps more footage from the flight coming out over on Zircon.

If you want to see the rest of the adventure, follow the page here 👇

🎈

14/08/2026

Our mate Pato talking about our recent outback adventure flight over Lake Eyre. A natural for the big screen right here. Reminds me a little of Bear Grills. 🤔🤠

12/08/2026

🥳😀

12/08/2026

12/08/2026

Two hot air balloons have been flown across Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre, hours before the weekend's wild weather hit.

It is believed to be the first time a hot air balloon has made the journey.

Read the full story: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-12/friends-fly-hot-air-balloon-over-kati-thanda-lake-eyre/107023914

12/08/2026

😀

12/08/2026

So this happened today. I was more nervous doing this than the flight. 😆
Fortunately Tom, Sylvia and the team were very professional.
Interested to hear: what do you think would be an epic Australian balloon flight. thetodayshow Ben Gowers Balloons Over Mildura