I'm in the back seat of a jeep that is rocking from side-to-side as the driver navigates his way through a very narrow natural cutting between two imposing walls of rock. Ahead of me, through the dusty windscreen and beyond the wildly swinging good luck pendant that is hanging from the rear view mirror, I can see the other jeep in our convoy of two making its way through. I am getting a sneak preview of the next tight squeeze that awaits us.

We're making our way as a group toward the launch site for a balloon ride. No, make that 'the balloon ride of a lifetime'. This is no exaggeration - none of us have done this before, none of us expect to do it again, and we've all said much the same thing in the days leading up to now: "If you're going to go ballooning anywhere, this is the place to do it."