How do you get one over your dread of heights? If you’re twenty seven year old, Semakaleng Remofilwe Mathebula, you set your sights on becoming South Africa’s First Black Hot Air Balloon Pilot – and then do it.
Semakaleng never thought her politics honours would lead her to being a ballooning pilot.
“I actually studied politics and when I couldn’t find a job in the political field, I sought professional help,” she explains, “they said ‘perhaps you’d like to pursue marketing’ and the role they had in mind was a marketing assistant for a hot air balloon operator.”
As someone that was always open to the adventure, Semakaleng said yes to the role which led her from balloon office to balloon field and now being a balloon pilot. She strongly believes that the industry chose her.
Flip Steyn, a pilot and managing director at Air to Air Africa, trained Semakaleng and noticed her intelligence and willingness to learn. He explains that ballooning as a sport is dying out and that with young people like Semakaleng, he hopes that it’ll increase the interest in ballooning.