In 2012 Global Ballooning Australia was the first commercial company to offer ballooning at the North Pole. Kiff Saunders and Viktor Myazov drove from Moscow to Murmansk to join the Quark Expeditions Team as a part of their ultimate arctic adventure.  The trip to 90 degrees north was aboard the largest nuclear icebreaker in the world - 50 let Pobedy (50 years of Victory). This incredible ship is able to move at 14 knots through 1 metre of ice. The voyage takes 5 days to reach the North Pole with the ship stpping along the way to allow passengers to watch Polar Bears wondering...

Global Ballooning Australia were recognised this year at the Victorian Tourism Industry Awards as the states best Tour Company for 2014. After many years of being a finalist in this category the incredible work undertaken by the team at GBA to provide our customers with a tourism experience of exceptional quality has been recognised by the comprehensive judging panel of industry experts. The criterion for the judging panel to make their decision is extensive. Not only do they look at the delivery of the product but also safety & risk management, community service, sustainability and contribution to the vibrancy of Victoria's Tourism Industry. We are extremely proud...

Nick Brau has worked with Global Ballooning Australia for 12 years now.    In 2002 Nick moved to Melbourne, Australia, on a contract to fly over the city with its high rise buildings and close to 4 million residents. By 2008 Nick accrued 2000 hours flying both conventional and special shaped balloons. He has unusual experience in that a very high ratio of his flying hours have been flown inside airport controlled zones and, due to geographical or meteorological reasons, in technically difficult areas. On a more personal level, Nick answered a few questions surrounding his ballooning experiences…...

FANTASVIC is an annual Inbound Workshop held by Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) where tourism suppliers from Melbourne and Tasmania join together in educating agents from around Australia about their products. You must be an ATEC member to be a part of this workshop. Visit their website to find out more information and the benefits of joining as a member: https://www.atec.net.au.     This one-day workshop was held at Bayview Eden on the Park in Melbourne on Thursday 19th June, with 24 agent appointments setup including a few appointments with key knowledgeable industry contacts.     Partaking in...

For the third year in a row Global Ballooning Australia was invited to join Quark Expeditions in providing their guests with the amazing experience of Hot Air Ballooning at the North Pole. In mid June myself and Viktor Myazov, our Yarra Valley pilot, left our not so sunny shores for the sea port of Murmansk in North West of Russia to join the North Pole expeditioners’ aboard the Russian Nuclear Ice Breaker ‘ 50 Years of Victory’. Having failed to get the balloon up on either of the two voyages the previous year we were nervous that we might...

The Global Ballooning Australia team enjoyed a day out of the office, planting trees in the Yarra Valley!  As part of Global Ballooning Australia's goals for 2014-2015, we aim to dedicate some of our time to giving back to the community and the environment.   Studies show that Green Travel is more important than ever for tourists. Many travellers worldwide are choosing to only experience tours, accommodation and products which preserve the ecological integrity of the environment. The Global team planted over 700 trees in Gruyere within just 6 hours!  Thanks yo Tree Project, this volunteer program was super...

The Global Ballooning Australia (GB) team together with Chocoholic Tours have introduced a new package: Melbourne Flight & Chocolate Tour. After meeting Jessica Gilchrist from Chocoholic Tours, we received a surprise dreamy chocolate pack by post. Following this pack, Destination Melbourne arranged an industry tour so the GB Team set out as ‘chocoholics’ on Tuesday 17th June 2014. Chocoholic Tours has been operating for over 20 years in Melbourne and continue to run the best chocolate tours in the CBD and now we know why! Jessica gave us a delightful two hour introduction into Melbourne’s chocolate culture reaping insight...

The Victorian Disability Sector Awards were held yesterday recognising the achievements and contributions made by individuals, businesses and organisations to the lives of people with disability. We were thrilled to be nominated by our friends at Scope a few months back for an award in the business category and equally delighted to hear news that we were finalists. Attending the ceremony today Kiff and our easy access basket partners Burt & Davies were humbled and inspired to be announced as winners of the ‘Business and Community Supporting Disability’ category. In the presence of unsung, selfless heroes the message...

On Sunday 16th March our Sales & Marketing champion Erin O'Brien became Erin Tucci as she said I DO to the love of her life Anthony. It was a beautiful ceremony full of love and laughter followed by a glorious reception full of more love and lots of dancing with family and friends. We all wish Erin and Anthony a lifetime of abundant love, good health and happiness.

Last week I visited India with a team of 22 Victorian tourism businesses as part of the Victorian Government Super Trade Mission to representing Global Ballooning Australia. Over the years I have participated in many international trade shows and since starting a family shared these opportunities abroad with my colleagues so that they too can gain a deeper understanding of our international markets and gain experience in business to business commercial agreements and relationship building. This trip to India was my first international assignment in over five years and I was quickly reminded in the first minute of...