This safari drone trip is a brand new and UNIQUE drone photo trip! After 2 years of droning wildlife in South Africa, I’ve decided to open up this experience to my groups as well 😍
With a small group of enthusiastic drone photographers we will create the safari experience of a lifetime. A trip that will make you appreciate our precious wildlife even more. A trip to always remember.
Over the course of 5 days we will go on daily safaris to look for wildlife. I will coach you on the spot to improve your drone photography and we’ll discuss composition and how to use movement in our private safari camp. We’ll share best practices and tips in a small group of like-minded participants. And in general we’ll just have a lot of fun on one of the most incredible safari experiences in South Africa.
Only 6 spots available per week! 🥳
Interested? Enter your email below:
Unfortunately the Safari drone trips are SOLD OUT for 2024! Fill out your details below to to get notified when the 2025 trips launch:
Safari drone trip 2024 in a nutshell:
- 6 people + myself
- 5 days of safari adventure in South Africa
- 15-19th of March OR 21-25th of March (5D/4N)
- 1 private luxury safari camp with pool
- A private chef to prepare us some delicious South African food
- 2 safari game drives per day!
- Wildlife photography with the drone*
- Drone coaching in the field
- Composition workshops at the camp
- All food & drinks included
* flying drones is strictly prohibited in all National Parks in South Africa, because poachers use drones to track endangered rhinos. This trip will be your only safe option to drone wildlife. We will only drone if the animals show a calm and undisturbed behavior. We can encounter lions 🦁, cheetahs, leopards, hyenas, rhinos, elephants 🐘, giraffes and herds of zebras, wildebeest, impalas and buffaloes. These animals are wild and need to be treated with the utmost respect!
💡 Focus is 100% on droning, but don’t forget your normal camera (with zoom lens), as there will be plenty of wildlife encounters all day long!
Our luxury safari camp in South Africa:
As usual on my drone trips we stay in one location, a luxury safari camp that I have privatized for this occasion. That means we’ll be all alone to do our thing. Next to the daily safari game drives, we can enjoy all the facilities, such as pool, boma (firepit with a view on the waterhole), gym, bar and free wifi.
The safari camp also comes with a waterhole, which attracts animals to come for a drink. And we can observe them from our breakfast table. This is honestly one of the best things! A lot of animals pass through here during the day.
You’ll have the option between a single luxury room, a single standard room or a shared luxury room. The luxury rooms come with a complementary outdoor shower! (love those! 😎)
Watch actual safari footage from last year:
This is the showcase video participant Jonty created from the footage he shot on the safari drone trip last year. You can see how the animals are calm, unbothered by the drone and continuing their usual activities. You can spot lions, buffaloes, giraffes, zebras, wildebeest, oryx, vultures etc…
Typical day:
Most animals are active between night and day, when the temperatures are low. During the day the sun heats up the land and animals tend to hide in the shadow and take naps. That’s why we need to get up early to see the most activity. Here’s a typical day on the drone trip:
- Rise and shine
- 6:00: departure sunrise game drive 🦁
- 9:00: back for breakfast
- Back-up & charge batteries
- Composition workshop
- 14:00: lunch at the camp
- Pool time / relax
- 16:00 departure afternoon game drive 🐘
- 19:00: driving back in the dark. Spot some nocturnal animals
- Back-up & charge batteries / refresh / shower
- 20:00 dinner at the camp
- Evening drinks & chat by the firepit
- Sleep
These timings are indications. We will be flexible to circumstances / opportunities. Both game drives are optional, if you wish to skip one and sleep in, it’s your holiday ☺️
Safari drone trip pricing:
All prices are all-inclusive, meaning your transportation from Johannesburg airport (JNB), your accommodation (5D/4N), 2x daily game drives and all food & drinks are included.
On top of that you’ll get daily drone coachings in the field and composition workshops from me personally.
Price: €3.000
- Shared luxury room (2p)
- Standard double bed
- Ensuite bathroom
- With bath
- + outdoor shower
Price: €3.300
- Single standard room
- King size double bed
- Ensuite bathroom
- With shower
Price: €3.600
- Single luxury room
- King size double bed
- Ensuite bathroom
- With bath
- + outdoor shower
Not included: your own flight to Johannesburg
Safari drone trip testimonials:
Wonderful bucket list experience 😍
The safari drone adventure really interested me. I dislike zoos and this safari allowed me to drone animals in their habitat. And I survived the trip with all of my limbs 😁 The accommodation was well above my expectations, with 3 exceptional meals a day. I learned a safari will teach you patience, for the animals are not waiting for you; distinguishing between old and new tracks and how to approach animals in the wild. The bonus was to reunite with previously met Adventurers. This was a wonderful bucket list experience!
Irving Donaldson
Great minds think alike
When I saw that Johan released the safari drone trip in South Africa – I booked immediately! I couldn’t miss this chance! ☺️
I learned a lot – it was a perfect mix between both flying drones, but also workshop lessons where we went through settings and looked at the photographs we took during the trip! It was great fun meeting people from all over the world, who share one’s interest in drones and the photo results from this trip were incredible! 😍
Jonas Andersson
Unforgettable adventure
Watching Bertie Gregory capture wildlife with a drone made me dream about filming wildlife with my drone. This safari trip made that dream a reality, with an unforgettable adventure capturing rare moments from graceful giraffes to gentle giants like Rhinos. I also got to capture the diverse birds that reflect the beauty and wonder of South Africa’s ecosystem.
The coaching from Johan and the peer learning from other drone enthusiasts made the experience incredible.
Obi Nnabuihe
Not my first trip with Johan and surely not the last one!
Intimate moments in a lodge with nice expendables droners looking for animals, droning, teaching, sharing and good laughs and food in the wild.
Awaiting the season 2 of it to go back.
Thanks Johan
Noël Nyamsy
Truly a once in a lifetime experience!
Ron Sobers
100% recommended !!!
Fran Arnau
10/10 – Would recommend !!!
Anthony Wheeler
A good time with great people!
It was a very good and well organized trip. A perfect mix of flying, education, joint analysis of photos and exchange of experiences.
A good time with great people! 😍
Piotr Wojciechowski
Interested? Enter your email below:
Unfortunately the Safari drone trips are SOLD OUT for 2024! Fill out your details below to to get notified when the 2025 trips launch:
South Africa safari drone trip location:
Our private luxury camp is situated 4h drive North of Johannesburg, on the border with Namibia ☺️ (Click to enlarge)
FAQ drone trip:
- I'm a beginner, can I join this trip?
Yes, definitely. On every trip I get participants from all levels and I coach everyone on their own level. You need to be able to fly basic manoeuvres, the rest we'll learn on the trip. Regardless of your starting point, all participants go home with a boosted self confidence while flying the drone and can now fly under any circumstances.
- Do I need my own drone?
Yes, you are supposed to bring your own drone and fly your own drone. If you have a spare drone, it's always good to bring it as well. I will also bring a back-up drone in case something happens.
That being said, I guide the participants during all flights and it's very rare that a drone crashes or is lost. Really.
- What drones are supported?
I know pretty much all cinematic DJI drones by heart. Most often I see DJI Mavic 2/3 series, DJI Mini 3/4 series, DJI Air 2/3 series. More and more FPV drones as well, such as the DJI Avata 1/2 or the original DJI FPV.
Occasionally, participants also bring an Autel drone, which is completely fine. However I'm less familiar with their app and settings. In the end, it all comes down to the same thing though. So don't worry.
- Who is this Johan?
Hi there 👋 I’m a professional drone photographer and educator from Belgium. I’m always traveling around the world to create beautiful and creative drone shots. I love taking photos of spectacular landscapes and looking for cool topdown patterns. My Tatacoa Desert photo won the 'Abstract' category in the prestigious Aerial Photography Awards 2020.
I have worked with brands such as DJI and PolarPro. You can see my videos for the launch of the DJI Mini 3 in 2023 and more recently also for the launch of the DJI Air 3. Commercially I also work a lot with tourism boards and the best luxury hotels all over the world. Atlantis the Royal in Dubai was my latest big hotel project, where I was contracted as the director of aerial photography, spanning both drone photography - with the Inspire 2 - and helicopter shoots.
When I’m not traveling, I like to educate other drone photographers through my drone trips. It's already been 5 years since I launched my first drone trip to the Azores! And ever since, I've been building on this experience to create more unique drone trips for you.
Apart from drone trips, I also do 1-on-1 coachings and run the Drone Adventurers Community.
- Where are the other participants from?
My trips have really become very international. I attract participants from the USA, over Europe to Asia. I would say the majority is from Western and Central Europe though. Browse through my testimonials to discover the different countries!
Last time I checked I counted 24 different countries 😲
- Will I be the only female in the group?
Actually surprisingly, the majority of my participants are female. About 60% vs 40% male. So you will def. not be the only one. I love have a good gender balance, it makes for the most fun groups.
- What if I need to cancel my trip?
In the unfortunate event that you need to cancel your trip, reach out to me immediately!
- Before 3 months to departure: You have already paid your down-payment, which is not refundable.
- Within 3 months of departure: The 2nd and final payment has been made and is not refundable.
- If I still find a replacement for your spot, I will refund you 60% of the final payment and you can keep 60% of the down payment as a credit for a future trip.
Here are some impressions of my previous safari drone trips in South Africa:
(Ground photos by James McCarthy)
Like these photos? Check out my South Africa wildlife drone photos.