Mudgee Hot Air Balloon Festival
On the last weekend of May, I drove north on the quiet country roads of New South Wales to catch up with a friend and to check out the Mudgee Night Glow; part of the Mudgee Hot Air Balloon Festival. It was the first time Mudgee have hosted the Balloon Festival, and I expect it will not be the last. It is something that all ages will enjoy. Catering for young families, couples, friends, teenagers and grandparents. It is worth a visit, if you are considering it for next year.
We booked into the Mudgee Riverside Caravan and Tourist Park on Short Street on a non-powered site and paid $25 for the night. Check in was anytime after 11am and a 10am check out which is very reasonable. It was a nice quiet, grassy spot and easy enough to get tent pegs into the ground which is always helpful. You never know what you will get when you are tenting! The Park is close to the Town Centre and only a five-minute walk up to the main road, to great places to eat and the Information Centre.
We caught the free shuttle bus to the Night Glow at Glen Willow Stadium along with all the other early birds at 5pm. There is no parking provided at the Stadium, so the free shuttle is the way to go. It leaves every 15 minutes and pick up points include the Information Centre, Mudgee High School, St Matthew’s Catholic School, and Mudgee Racecourse. We were amongst the first in and choose the best spot on the hillside opposite the stadium which gives you great views of all the balloons.
You are welcome to pack your own snacks or there were a variety of food trucks to buy meals from. We bought the grass tickets and packed our picnic blanket, low chairs and glow sticks. Though you can also purchase grandstand tickets if that’s more your cup of tea. Grandstand tickets are $30 compared to $20 for the picnic seating. There are early bird prices if you purchase up to a few weeks before the event. It is worthwhile to pack or dress warmly as it gets cold at Mudgee, particularly at this time of the year. I did loose circulation in at least eight of my toes. The feeling came back several hours later when I was tucked up warmly in my sleeping bag.
Whilst we did get there at 5pm, the real action doesn’t start to 8pm so we just used this time to catch up as it had been awhile since our last one. There is face painting for the kiddies, market stalls, a hot air balloon to walk through and food to eat. At 7pm they had five hot air balloons tethered to the ground and it was cool to see them slowly fill up. Finally, at 8pm there are many more hot air balloons tethered in the centre of the field and they light up the night sky in a choreographed performance. This was the highlight of the night for me with the fireworks concluding the night at 8:30pm.
The shuttle buses are provided to take you back to Town and was easy enough. For us anyway. It looked alittle of a struggle for families with strollers or big Esky’s as they tried to squeeze down the skinny walkway of an overcrowded bus.
The next morning, we were up bright and early at 6:30am to take our tent down and then we drove out to the Blue Wren Wines which had the Key Grab on between 7:30- 8:30am. Hot air balloons left from all different locations and then attempted to grab a large key strung on a pole for the major prize. Failing this they had to drop a bean bag onto the center of an X on the ground. I’m guessing there was at least 15 hot air balloons in the Grab. It is commentated and was worth standing in the cold paddock for.
The weekend all up cost less than $150 for me, which included petrol, camping, balloon festival tickets, food and snacks. Cheap and a fun festival I highly recommend attending.
