Balloons over Waikato 2024: Eliot Jessep's journey in ballooning

“It’s wind. It’s fire. It’s physics.”

These are the words Eliot Jessep uses to describe the “freedom” of flying hot air balloons. Jessep, a lighting and production designer, pilots one of over 20 balloons taking to the Hamilton skies as part of Balloons over Waikato this week.

“Ballooning is about freedom,” Jessep told the Waikato Herald.

“I love the peace of it.”

Jessep got his first taste of that freedom when his mum, Paula, woke him up early for Balloons over Waikato.

“Balloons over Waikato is the standard Hamilton childhood experience,” Jessep said.

“I remember Mum used to take me to see the balloons in the mornings. What Hamilton kid doesn’t remember getting up before it’s light and eating hot chips at the lake as the balloons took off?”

When Jessep was about 12 years old he joined the Waikato Hot Air Ballooning Club. Today, the 29-year-old can still remember his first flight with Mark Brown, who now pilots the Hamilton Balloon.

“You’re going at the speed of the wind,” Jessep said.

“It’s so soft and calm. I was hooked.”

As a teenager, Jessep would ride his bike to Hamilton Lake every weekend to “go crewing”, assisting balloon pilots with setup, take-off and landing.

“Ballooning has a beautiful community around it.”

Jessep’s experiences as a crew member only confirmed his childhood belief that hot air balloons “were just the coolest things in the world”.

“Every flight is different. It’s an adventure. There’s always an element of surprise.”

Jessep arrived back in New Zealand on Monday after spending the past eight to ten months travelling as he worked with artists like Bene, SZA and Alison Wonderland to develop the creative aspects of their live shows at venues in New York, Malaysia and Poland, to name a few.

“Coachella last year was the pinnacle,” Jessep said.

“The whole show worked. The vibe was great. I genuinely shed a little tear of relief [because] I slept three hours a day but it looked amazing.”

In the last year, Jessep said he had worked on hundreds of shows.

“My life at the moment is pretty much all gas and no brakes.”

But Jessep said no matter how busy he’s been, balloons have helped him to connect with people all over the world.

“There’s a huge correlation between people who work in production and people who work in hot air balloons. I managed to get a heap of crew to charter a hot air balloon in Oregon. It’s becoming the day off activity for touring.”

Jessep said he was determined to fly at Balloons over Waikato, after missing the event for the last two years.

“I’m back just for this week.”

He said his red, white and blue balloon was a way of honouring his mother.

“I cry at every Balloons over Waikato because for me it’s what I did with Mum. It was our thing.

“I lost her when I was 16 and I’d never done any memorial. Nothing felt right to do. Then I bought this hot air balloon with my dad.

When the time came to name the balloon, Jessep said one name “felt so right”.

“Mum introduced me to balloons. She was always encouraging me. She’d drive me all over the place to where there were balloon events happening.

“Paula the Balloon is such a nice way of honouring her.”

Jessep said he was most excited to see families coming to enjoy Balloons over Waikato this week and he hoped more young people would be interested in learning how to fly.

“I just want everyone in Hamilton to come out and look and talk to balloonists,” Jessep said.

“Balloons are magic. Adults love them. Kids love them. They bring joy. They bring people out. You really can’t fault them.”

Maryana Garcia is a Hamilton-based multimedia reporter covering breaking news in Waikato. She previously wrote for the Rotorua Daily Post and Bay of Plenty Times.

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