Abeid Soka: From Safari guide to soaring the Serengeti skies

While other pilots will cage you in an iron bird for the duration of your flight, Pilot Soka lets your eyes soar high and watch the sunrise while the herd of elephants roam through the Serengeti plains.

For the last 17 years, he has been a safari hot air balloon pilot, with numerous journeys under his belt and lots of adventures treasured in his heart. Evidently, he and his colleagues continue to cement their place in Tanzania’s ever-diversifying tourism sector.

They are still in celebratory mode; they are just coming from the World Travel Awards in the Kingdom of Bahrain, where they won World’s Leading Balloon Ride Company 2025. Behind the scenes are hard-working hours that Tanzanians like Soka dedicate to their craft.

Which will rarely be noticed or acknowledged. But it is something that he wakes up to every morning, knowing he is living a dream he worked so hard for. What would make a Tanzanian local tour operator outshine the rest across the globe? Soka affirms that their experience accumulated over 35 years of flying hot air balloons in Tanzania.

It’s a norm to hear of Tanzanians flying aircraft; Air Tanzania has a substantial number of those, but local balloon pilots are somewhat of an anomaly.

Soka, by then a notable safari guide, would normally take his clients to ride in the hot air balloons after they had completed their safaris in the national parks.

The balloon company would, occasionally, offer the safari guides a spot to fly alongside their clients. “When I took my first ride, I was hooked,” he remembers. That was the start of his journey in pursuit of one day not only being a passenger but also steering the balloon to the skies.

Being on the first balloon ride is mind-blowing, to say the least. You watch yourself elevated above the trees, and suddenly the Serengeti is below your feet, so are its wild beasts and lush environment. While one is expected to be fixated on the scenery, on his first flight, Soka had his eyes on the operator and how he was navigating the balloon.

He kept his eyes on his hand movements every step of the way, and he kept absorbing what was happening, oblivious to the beautiful picturesque everyone was mesmerised by.

Subsequently, he would go on a search to find how he could study to become a balloon pilot, initially hitting a snag because no Tanzanian institution offered such studies. When he hit the wall, he boldly sought after the Balloon Safari’s owner and asked him if he could help in finding a place to learn how to fly.

Additionally, he asked if the owner could provide him with a scholarship. A request that would take him 3 years of persistently knocking on his door before he would realise that Soka was not the one to give up, and he was determined to learn the trade.

His first training took him to Tuscany in Italy, a hot air balloon enthusiast’s paradise due to its convenient weather.

There, he enrolled in a British-owned institution, and after three months of vigorous training, he acquired his British private hot-air balloon pilot licence in 2007.

He came back home to Tanzania. Upon his return, he would ride along with experienced pilots and watch what they were doing, sharpening his skills.

After a few months, he felt confident enough to then go study for a commercial licence, which took him to the state of California in the United States. Training at the airport and Temecula Valley towards the end of 2007.

The hot air balloon pilot training requires a strong science subject background; one has to have a good command of English, with a background in mathematics, geography and physics, of which Soka excelled.

Fear of heights is not within Soka; he actually finds his peace when he is up in the sky.

“That’s my passion; I can go as high as the oxygen is available in the sky,” he said. “Most people who say they have a fear of heights, it’s because they have never tried getting a ride in a hot air balloon, but when they do, all that fear goes away,” he attested.

Pilot Soka describes a hot air balloon ride as the most peaceful mode of safari rides.

The aerial perspective of the wildlife and the Serengeti is nothing like anything you see when trekking on the ground. Unlike the ground safari, balloon rides are designed to offer a different kind of exploration, seeking wildlife, which is often found, but it’s a bonus.

The rides are more for a panoramic view, a scenic feast for the eyes. The whole journey experience as you leave the ground is what tourists go for; from the vegetation, the hills, mountains, woodlands and the sunrise in Serengeti, it guarantees one to have an exceptionally good day for the 40-60 minutes you spend in the air. Although pilots would on occasion navigate the hot air balloon as low as 200 feet above ground, so that tourists could see the wildlife a little bit closer.

Soka said they have the utmost respect for wildlife and to stay as far as possible so as not to disrupt their lives. “We give the animals a good distance, from 200 to 500 feet, so that clients can take photos but not at the cost of the animals’ well-being,” he added.

The balloon lowers so that they can recognise the animals and soak in the moment, but not put animals or the client in any danger. For the millions of tourists who flock to Tanzania to visit its numerous national parks and beaches and even climb Kilimanjaro, Soka urges you to use this relatively environmentally friendly mode of transportation.

That typically uses propane as fuel, which burns cleanly and produces minimal emissions. “Try climbing into a hot air balloon because you have no idea what you are missing. Whoever goes on a balloon flight will never stop doing it, I guarantee that,” he affirmed.

Regardless of one’s height or weight, a hot air balloon is for everyone; there are balloons for 8, 12 and 16 seaters, with all calculations done to consider takeoff mass.

The flights are conducted with the utmost care and adherence to strict flight regulations to ensure smooth operations and maximum enjoyment for all onboard.

For those planning to visit Tanzania, Soka said any time of the year Serengeti is amazing and a balloon ride will be equally enjoyable.

 “In Serengeti, we have animals throughout the year, 365 days a year; this is their home,” he said.