Our Pilots

‘Riz’ was born and raised in Kenya, grew up in Nairobi and travelled widely as a child with his outdoor oriented family. His flying career began with a fixed wing pilots’ license, which was hardly used as a camp manager in the Masai Mara. It was during this time that he met Andrew, and with that meeting came the opportunity to experience the magic of ballooning. It didn’t take long before Riz decided to become an ‘Aeronaut’, and he travelled to the world renowned ballooning destination of Albquerque, New Mexico, for his training. Since 2009 he has worked in Amboseli, in the South East of Kenya, flying passengers to view the highest mountain in Africa Mt. Kilimanjaro, as well as the abundant wildlife in the area.

Riz’s studies in Sport, Recreation and Tourism have allowed him to work in a fascinating variety of fields, including teaching swimming and physical education, managing a health centre and being the voice of daily sports updates on nairobi’s ‘Capital FM’ and ‘Nation FM’ radio stations. However his career in tourism started as a Camp Manager, Guide and host, meaning Riz is no stranger to sharing his passion for the wilderness and how to enjoy it best. In his own words – ‘I’m a safari guide,that flies.’ Riz comes from an active background, and played competitive squash until a few years ago, he enjoys motorcycling, Land-rovers and 4-wheel-driving, all kinds of sports and photography, and his partner Anja and him share their time between family in Nairobi, Denmark, and their home in the Masai Mara.

Born and raised in Kenya, David started o ff as a balloon crew in 1991 and grew to love the flying experience over the majestic Mara. In the year 2007, he went for advance training in Gatwick, England and thereafter mondovy-Italy as a Balloon Pilot. Ballooning has been his only experience since after school. He has more than 2000 hours to date of flying experience and has flown more than 35,000 international and local tourists combined, including celebrities like Sir Richard Branson.