Canadian stuck in safari camp helps run hot air balloon company from a tent
Barry McGonigle was in Kenya to launch a new Sundance Balloons location when COVID-19 hit
The snow-capped summit of Mount Kilimanjaro peaks out over the sprawling savannah plains of Kenya’s Amboseli National Park. If Barry McGonigle listens closely, the distant roar of a lion will make its way to Kibo Safari Camp, where he waits out COVID-19 isolated from the world.
Soon, the park and all its wildlife will be visible by hot air balloon, with McGonigle’s Sundance Balloons in the process of developing its first Kenyan safari from the sky. But when news of COVID-19 started making its rounds in January, the Kenyan government took swift action. Unlike many other countries, Kenya wasted no time implementing far-reaching protocols aimed at limiting the spread of the virus. Strict international travel restrictions have been in place for months, renewed again earlier this week.
The protocols have earned the praise of the global community, with the East African nation of 51 million people recording just under 3,000 confirmed cases and 85 deaths to date.
But for McGonigle, who flew to Kenya in early January, it has meant months of uncertainty over his return to his family in Belmont, Ont., about 20 kilometres south of London.
With his balloon construction project temporarily put on hold, he is one of a handful of people staying at Kibo Safari Camp. It has 73 self-contained tents, but the majority are empty.
All three meals are provided with meat, fruit and vegetables sourced from the local communities. The water is clean, taken and filtered from the fresh mountain springs. And he jokes the internet is better than at his Belmont office back in Canada.
“I miss my family and friends beyond words,” he said. “Though I’ve got it better than a lot of people in the world, and I just think that we as Canadians need to be appreciative of every day and make the best of it.”
But that doesn’t mean the last few months haven’t come
without their challenges, separated by a continent, ocean and more than 12,000 kilometres from his family-run business he owns with his wife, Judy.
Sundance Balloons, Canada’s only national hot air balloon company with locations spanning from Kitchener-Waterloo to Calgary, has felt the heavy burden of COVID-19. With the regular season usually starting in May, it has already lost more than a sixth of its bookings. By July, it will have lost a third.
The industry is already susceptible to outside conditions. Balloon rides are only available twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. And that is still subject to change depending on the day’s weather — too much wind or rain and flights can be grounded.
The company owns about 100 balloons, with just under 20 designated in the various Canadian markets for passenger flights. This year, McGonigle said they’ve limited it to one balloon per market, and all vouchers have been extended to the 2021 season for anyone who doesn’t feel comfortable flying.
“This is unlike anything we’ve ever imagined,” said McGonigle. “Our hope is that we can open on July 1, and when the end of the season comes, our losses aren’t so unimaginable.”
Like many other businesses, McGonigle and his team have been reading each government announcement at the federal and provincial levels, waiting for the all-clear to begin operating once again.
Most balloons can carry up to 12 passengers, but flights need a minimum of eight people to ensure proper weight and balance.
The company has developed an inhouse plan on how to safely reopen, including questionnaires for all passengers, masks or face shields, and vinyl partitions in the baskets to create separate compartments for each group.
And, much to McGonigle’s disappointment, the ceremonial postflight champagne will be temporarily put on hold for the foreseeable future. Outside of the other precautionary steps, he said it’s the only major difference passengers will notice.
“A balloon ride is typically a once-in-alifetime adventure, and we want all of our guests to remember it that way,” he said. “For us, we do it for the lighter than air flight, the freedom, the sunrises and sunsets, the wildlife we see and the people we come across and meet. It’s a lifestyle.”
In reaction to the initial Canadian shutdown earlier this year, the company also turned its balloon manufacturing business into a face shield manufacturer, supplying front-line workers across the country with the equipment necessary to stay safe.
And through government subsidies, they have been able to keep on all their full-time staff. Seasonal staff, which usually includes many students, have not been hired for the season.
This marks the 35th year the business has been open, and 25 years that McGonigle and his wife have owned it. Admittedly, this wasn’t quite the way McGonigle said he planned on celebrating.
In fact, June 24 also marks another important date on his calendar; 25 years since he and Judy were married. It’s an anniversary they’ll likely have to celebrate remotely — Judy at home in Canada and Barry in a tent in Kenya.
“I know there’s zero chance that I can get back, and that sucks,” he said. “But we have our health, and all things considered, I think we’re pretty lucky.”