South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mavic Pro :)

[dronino]

hello there,
this is my first post, but i follow this forum from the beginning and over the years i have owned an Inspire 1, a Phantom 4 and now a Mavic Pro.

Here you can find my last video shot in South Africa, from Cape Town to Victoria Falls (timeline 03:01), with awesome drone footage

I used the following camera style settings: 0 -1 -1 (contrast, saturation and digital sharpness), which for me work best.

enjoy

 

[Bunny Too]

hello there,
this is my first post, but i follow this forum from the beginning and over the years i have owned an Inspire 1, a Phantom 4 and now a Mavic Pro.

Here you can find my last video shot in South Africa, from Cape Town to Victoria Falls (timeline 03:01), with awesome drone footage

I used the following camera style settings: 0 -1 -1 (contrast, saturation and digital sharpness), which for me work best.

enjoy

Looks like you had a great time.

 

[beach_Dr]

Did you have to get any special permission to fly at Victoria Falls? I know they're busy with tourist plane rides/helicopter flips over the falls all the time.

 

[MetalDetectingMichigan]

hello there,
this is my first post, but i follow this forum from the beginning and over the years i have owned an Inspire 1, a Phantom 4 and now a Mavic Pro.

Here you can find my last video shot in South Africa, from Cape Town to Victoria Falls (timeline 03:01), with awesome drone footage

I used the following camera style settings: 0 -1 -1 (contrast, saturation and digital sharpness), which for me work best.

enjoy

A great video put together very professionally

 

[PastyBoy]

Its been almost 20 years since my wife and I took in almost all those sites, brought back some great memories.

Great mixture of hand held and drone footage and well edited. Well done!

PS.... Very jealous!

 

[dronino]

Did you have to get any special permission to fly at Victoria Falls? I know they're busy with tourist plane rides/helicopter flips over the falls all the time.

I have not seen any police officer in Victoria falls, so it's impossible to ask for permission to anyone
My first take off point was right at the end of the touristic trail that sorround the falls, and nobody asked me if i had permission to fly, also the official Zimbabwean guides!

There are many helicopters flying over the falls, about 500-600 meters over these, for security reasons i kept the drone at a maximum altitude of 150 meters.

Because the takeoff point at the end of the trail was sorrounded by vegetation with the impossibility to see the drone flying, i decided to abort my first flight due to helicopters presence and lack of knowledge of the area.

So i paid a taxi driver to bring me on the Zambesi river shores, where the falls visibility is optimal and you can see your drone without visual obstacles.

 

[David Papp]

Hi,
I'm planning to visit the same countries. Can you help me what permissons were necessary to take your drone?
Thanks
David

 

[dronino]

ciao David,
like other countries, if you use your drone in South Africa or Zimbabwe for recreation purposes you don't need any permission.
Pay attention over penguins, because there is a lot of people around them and flying whit a drone it's dangerous for people and animals. So i didn't fly over them during my South Africa trip.
Nobody ever asked my if i did a permit to fly, also policeman or foresters. Like in other countries, these people are just curious and tell you how many meters the dron fly away from you, how higher etc.

 

[David Papp]

Thanks for the information and for the tips.

 

[beach_Dr]

Hi,
I'm planning to visit the same countries. Can you help me what permissons were necessary to take your drone?
Thanks
David

Hi David
South Africa has the standard recreation drone laws - always maintain VLOS, max height 400ft/120m, max distance from operator 500m, no flying over crowds, public roads, buildings etc. Though in reality no one really enforces it...
Where you will find authorities getting stricter is national parks/game reserves. Poaching big problem and drones can be used in poaching, so not well tolerated!

Zimbabwe may be more of an issue. Haven't traveled there myself, but have friends who travel and police / authorities are always looking for a reason to fine you/get a bribe. They've had issues with cameras to cooler boxes (especially at borders) and big issues with little things (eg vehicle manufacturer reflectors not shiny enough, pay a bribe or we impound your car)... I'm sure not all the officials are corrupt, but they may try and get a bribe out of you for some unknown aerial law.

 

[David Papp]

Hi, Thanks for the information. Zimbabwe seems a bit caothic. I've asked the local Authority and they answered "All drone operations are currently not permitted until
the regulations are promulgated." Worst case I'll not use it in Zimbabwe. I was worrying about to pass the Customs, but based on Dronio it should no the a problem.

 

[dronino]

I confirm that i had my drone in hand luggage during Victoria Falls security checks and customs, and nobody blocked me.
When my hand luggage passed the x-ray, nobody has opened the bag or asked me informations about it.