The world's best female balloon pilots have been putting their skills to the test in the small Wheatbelt town of Northam. The sport's tight-knit community worked together to help 30 competitors from 13 countries take part in the Women's World ballooning championships.
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00:00 As the sun rises in the Avon Valley, so too do the world's best female hot air balloon
00:10 pilots.
00:12 Rather than a race, it's a test of skill.
00:14 The first task will be a target that's laid out on the ground and the balloons have got
00:18 to fly as close as they can to that target and throw their little marker out.
00:22 The key is to keep an eye on the wind and use it to get these gentle giants to complete
00:26 missions, gaining points along the way.
00:29 I am the one at the controls.
00:32 I actually have a navigator or a co-pilot who's very integral in it, but it's also the
00:38 team on the ground.
00:39 We're constantly talking to each other about strategy.
00:43 Even though there's only one pilot on each ticket, it takes a whole team to get off the
00:48 ground and navigate the sky.
00:52 The Aussies have adopted New Zealand's only female pilot.
00:55 Swimming is super inclusive and a really supportive sport.
01:02 It can get a little bit cutthroat at times, but at the end of the day we're all competing
01:05 against ourselves as much as each other.
01:08 The combination of camaraderie and competition has these women hooked.
01:12 We're trying to get younger people involved with it.
01:15 It is an expensive hobby to have.
01:18 For me it's a hobby and not a livelihood.
01:21 Australia's Nicholas Scaife took out the top spot for the third time.
01:24 The UK's Stephanie Hemmings came in second and third place went to Sarne Haarhuis from
01:29 the Netherlands.
01:31 It's very unique and it's very simple and we can only go with the wind, which is just
01:36 a beautiful thing.
01:37 A beautiful thing taking women to spectacular heights.
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