Day Three

We got up around 5.00 am, to make sure we could fly the balloon before the winds picked up. On the way towards the mine we got closer and closer to a band of cloud ... I was not hopeful the balloon would fly, but no way would it fly in even the slightest cloud cover.

After some deliberations, we decided to drive away from the cloud and try in the desert - appropriately in the same place we'd tried the Mars Rover in the first challenge. So we stood in the desert, and wafted the balloon full with air. The series producer wandered off back to the vehicles to get his camera, saying to the crew, "Don't worry, guys - not much is going to happen It’s not going to fly" - and the beauty started to rise from the ground! Again, it was another hopelessly exciting moment. We were all dashing about like crazy things, hearts lifting as the mad, black, eared balloon lifted. We even got worried it was going too high!

Mike B worked like a trooper getting the carbon dioxide filter working. It needed some delicate balancing to make it a 'fair test'. We joined in, trying to help where we could. All very excited at the end - it working was the best end to the day we possibly could have had.