Drones in the Drakensberg Park

wrote:

If I was caught flying my drone in the Drakensberg Park without an Ezemvelo permit and flight plan...they would immediately take my drone pilots license away. 

Is there case law on this? In other words, has this rap-on-knuckles occurred? 

Sorry, I have to ask such questions that are borderline troll-ish since I was once told by a mother grundy that civilians may not own anything that looks like an AK-47. 2 hours later, I walked 25 metres down the shooting range to see civilians running around with their privately owned Norinco T56s on the range with live ammunition (ie not airsoft). 

I swore to never believe anything on the errornet again unless it is properly documented.

And I suppose if you pay a lawyer enough money, a fire isn’t a fire either and a judge will be too daft to tell the difference

Meanwhile, the Civil Aviation Authority in SA defines a drone as an aircraft. But then what does the CAA know about flying?
www.caa.co.za/pages/rpas/remotely%20piloted%20aircraft%20systems.aspx

Drones do seem to be covered under legislation specifically for Ezemvelo, gazetted here .

The legalities aside, in an age where "personal freedoms" trump all else and nothing happened unless it was documented in 4k... this is a trend only peer pressure will resolve - comment on their posts, call out bad behaviour in the Berg.

I agree grae22. 

Pressure should be directed at those paid and entrusted  with the protection of the Berg too. 
What would it cost to send a targeted warning to those who advertise the fact that they are breaking the law? Only a bit of will and 15 minutes of their time. 

I guess I am on my own here, but I honestly do not see a major problem with drones being used for photography in the Berg. I know there are regulations but the law is not specific to drones themself. Flying around for fun is a nuisance and can disturb the peace which I am against but genuinely flying to take footage of the high Berg does not really cause a disturbance - you can hardly hear them once they are more than 100m away from you. People need to be educated as to how drones should be used, instead of a blanket ban due to draconian views of certain people. If flyers stick to the general rules (altitude above them and distance from them), I do not see a problem with it.

Disclaimer: I do photography but do not own a drone myself

 

 

From: www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/202001/42967gon43.pdf

The regulations governing drones do seem very clear to me.

In what way are these laws unclear? 

Or is the principle that we pick and choose which ones we dislike and then decide for others what the impact on them of breaking those laws is going to be?
 

Thank you for linking to this document tiska - your googling skill are much better than mine. It seem that the most relevant paragraph to the topic is this on page #62:

14.4.  The  use  of  radio  or  remote  controlled  toy  or  model  aircraft  is  prohibited  except  in  specially  designated areas. Such toy  or models  used  in  violation  of  this  prohibition  may  be confiscated  by  an  Officer, without warning,  and shall  only  be returned on application  to the Authority. 

It sounds like the parks that are managed by KZN Wildlife have "specially designated areas" for flying drones.

@Peter. I am a terrestrial photographer, so drones while they look schmick don't interest me too much at the moment, too much gear to carry already.  However even when doing legitimate photography, and not just stuffing around doesn't prevent a vulture or Lamageyer bird strike, or pissing them off or scaring them off nesting sites because the pilot doesn't know that there is a nest in the area.  Unfortunately there are a lot of photographers of insta ego trips just to get a post and likes, (even to the extent of adding people onto peaks).  Not sure how it would be enforced, but my view is that the Berg is not yet the Dolomites or the Alps, and it is great not to be disturbed by whining drones.  When a photographer wants a specific look, it can take a while to get it with that ongoing drone sound. Not a good sound when you get up there for some peace and quiet.

Hello Guys. I know there are hikers who fly drones, so I thought it good to keep you up to date on the latest in SA. Up to now the drone industry has not been policed due to the fact the SAPS have not had charge codes in order to charge, arrest and fine illegal drone operators. From today March 2022 drone criminal charge codes have been sent to all SAP stations.  There is also a document being sent out to educate the police on the drone industry and on illegal operations. As per the attached photos you can see there are 20 different drone offences. An illegal drone operator taking photos could possibly be charged for more than 10 of these offences at R50 000.00 per offence. This is to warn you, as these fines are not a joke, and make sure you fly drones within the law of SA. For those interested I can email you the 24 page document that includes a guide for private use of drones.           Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.