About Us

The Legacy of Bill Harrop’s Balloon Safaris

There would be no Bill Harrop’s “Original” Balloon Safaris without Bill and Mary Harrop.

In 1981, they turned a shared passion for ballooning, hospitality and people into something South Africa had never seen before: a professional commercial ballooning operation built around both aviation discipline and a genuine sense of occasion.

What began with their courage, determination and considerable force of personality grew into Southern Africa’s longest-established licensed balloon airline.

Bill and Mary did not simply establish a company. Together, they created a particular way of welcoming people to the sky.

The Sergeant and the Showman

Mary was affectionately known as “the Sergeant”.

She looked after sales and reservations, kept the details straight and made certain that promises became properly organised flights. Behind every cheerful welcome was Mary’s steady hand, her practical judgement and her absolute expectation that things should be done correctly.

Meanwhile, Bill was the glorious entertainer: a flamboyant, generous and sometimes magnificently pedantic extrovert. He could command a room, tell a story, sing a song and turn breakfast into part of the adventure.

He was also a deeply experienced balloonist, aviation professional and passionate advocate for safety, service and South African tourism.

Their personalities were wonderfully different. Bill drew people into the story; Mary made certain that the operation deserved their trust.

Together, they were formidable.

A Life Built Around People

Bill and Mary travelled extensively together, experiencing different countries, cultures and traditions of hospitality.

They understood that memorable service is not created by grand gestures alone. It is found in the details: a warm welcome before dawn, clear communication, a carefully prepared aircraft, a reassuring word and the feeling that someone has genuinely thought about your experience.

As a result, their love of people shaped the company from its earliest days. Bill and Mary never treated guests as numbers on a passenger manifest. Instead, they welcomed each person into an occasion that they believed should remain with them for years.

That philosophy still guides us today.

A Family Raised in Ballooning

Ballooning became part of Harrop family life.

Bill and Mary’s children, Sam Harrop and Sarah Bauling, both trained in the art of hot air ballooning and flew the South African skies before later making their lives abroad.

For the Harrop family, the business was never merely a commercial undertaking. It was an extraordinary family adventure, lived through early mornings, changing weather, long journeys, balloon festivals, shared meals and countless stories brought home from the sky.

The family name remains above our door because their contribution remains within everything we do.

A Partnership That Endures

Mary and Bill died just eight days apart in 2021. Their loss was immeasurable, both to their family and to the many people whose lives they touched.

However, they built the operation to endure. Its foundations were not only balloons, buildings and licences. They were standards, traditions, relationships and a deep respect for the responsibility of carrying passengers into the sky.

Every morning that a balloon rises from Skeerpoort, something of Bill and Mary rises with it.

Ballooning as It Was Meant to Be

Although the company has grown and evolved since 1981, the essence of Bill Harrop’s “Original” Balloon Safaris remains unchanged.

We remain devoted to ballooning as Bill and Mary intended it to be: unhurried, precise, personal and quietly extraordinary.

At first light, our balloons rise above the Magalies River Valley. The occasional breath of the burner breaks the silence as rivers, farmland, bushveld and distant mountains unfold below.

No two flights follow exactly the same path. The wind decides where the journey will lead, just as it has since the earliest days of ballooning.

A Permanent Home for Ballooning

Ours is not a temporary or travelling operation. Bill and Mary created a permanent home for ballooning in Skeerpoort.

Each morning begins at our private launch site, where guests can watch the balloons being prepared as dawn gathers over the valley.

After the flight, the Clubhouse Pavilion welcomes passengers back for breakfast. It is a place filled with memories, photographs and echoes of the many mornings that came before.

Over the decades, our team has considered, tested and refined every part of the experience. Licensed pilots lead each flight, experienced crew support the operation on the ground, and safety shapes every decision.

This combination of aviation discipline and heartfelt hospitality is the standard Bill and Mary established.

Tradition in Every Flight

Ballooning has always carried a sense of ceremony.

Guests arrive before sunrise for refreshments while the crew prepares the balloons. They watch enormous envelopes slowly take shape before climbing aboard and drifting into the morning sky.

After landing, passengers raise a traditional glass of sparkling wine. The celebration continues with breakfast at the Clubhouse Pavilion, followed by the presentation of a Certificate of Bravery.

Importantly, these traditions are not decorative extras. They connect today’s passengers with the long and colourful history of ballooning, and with the character Bill and Mary gave to every flight.

Custodians of Their Legacy

Bill and Mary are the reason we have a ballooning operation at all. Today, our team serves as the custodian of everything Bill and Mary created.

We carry their legacy forward through every safety briefing, every weather decision, every warm welcome and every balloon that rises over the valley.

Aircraft change. Teams grow. New generations of passengers arrive before dawn. But the purpose remains the same: to share the wonder of ballooning with warmth, integrity, professionalism and just enough theatre to make Bill proud.

It is not simply a balloon flight. It is Bill and Mary’s living legacy, shared with each new morning.