Meet the Team

Graeme Scaife
Chief Pilot and Owner of Balloon Safaris
Graeme has been flying balloons since 1985 and was one of the first commercial balloon operators in Europe.  Now resident of Australia, Graeme has a commercial instructor rating and has flown on every continent except Antartica, building up thousands of hours of ballooning experience. 

Daren Pallett
Operations Manager 
Daren learnt to fly in the 1990s under the instruction of Graeme.  Daren holds a Class 4 commercial pilots licence allowing him to fly the biggest balloons made to date.  He has had over 1000 flights in the Hunter Valley and being a local there is much he can tell you about the vineyards and surrounds.  Daren is also a member of the NSW Fire Brigade holding First Aid and Advanced First Aid Certificates. 

Sean Kavanagh
Pilot
Sean’s accolades in ballooning are outstanding.  He is currently the Australian National Balloon Champion, competing all over the world with great success.  He works full time designing and building hot air balloons and was instrumental in the design of the Kavanagh Smart Vent, a highly acclaimed safety innovation in balloon development.