The skies over Northam, WA, were dotted with balloons Saturday as 30 of the world's best pilots took flight in a practice round ahead of the fifth Women's World Hot Air Balloon Championship this week.
Among the pilots from all corners of the globe was two-time world champion Hunter flyer Nicola Scaife.
Scaife has been flying balloons for nearly two decades and, when she's not competing, pilots commercial flights through the Hunter Valley with Balloon Aloft.
In 2014, the first year that the biennial competitive balloon championships opened to women since its inception in the 1970s, Scaife beat out the competition to return from host country Poland with gold. It was a feat she repeated two years later in Lithuania, and again in 2018 from where she returned with bronze.
The Hunter pilot is looking to secure another victory in Northam this week when the women's world championships are staged again.
Pilots have come from as far away as Brazil, Japan, Germany, Lithuania and the USA to test their skills. It's the first time the event has been held outside Europe.
Another practice day was scheduled for Sunday, but will be weather dependent, and the championship officially commences on Monday with early morning and late afternoon flights scheduled daily and a fly-in finale on Saturday morning, 9 September, to close the event.
._Patrick_s_Day_Parade_94380.jpg?w=600)
