SAN DIEGO — If you've ever wanted to visit Machu Picchu in Peru or go on Safari in Botswana, you may have thought that the logistics of capturing the adventure while flying your drone were out of your range.
NatureEye has solved that and makes it all possible without you having to leave your home. We would fly our drone in and around the Cloud Forest Machu Picchu Pueblo, Peru and then later I would fly at Elephant Sands Nata, Botswana Africa.
But before you get to take off you have to spend some time in a self-taught flight school. After about 10 minutes you're good to go.
Our guide Eric at Machu Picchu assists in your take-off will and get you above the town of Agua Caliente.
"There is the cloud forest of Machu Picchu, the end of the Andes and the beginning of the jungle, that's what we call the Cloud Forest," he said.
Now at this point, you have 3 options you do all the flying; you let your guide fly and tell you where you're going and what you are seeing or there is a drop down of points of interest and the drone flies automatically.
No matter what you decide your guide is always there sharing local knowledge.
"In the village we are at 7,000' and at Machu Picchu we are at 9,000'," he said.
While Eric flies us around this is Michelle Weil Chief Marketing Officer for Nature Eye.
"So, we came up with the idea to let people fly drones remotely in iconic locations around the world and we would give back up to half to those locations," she said.
Most were struggling during the pandemic because of the lack of visitors. Since then, that has changed but the focus is on the people that are there.
"We're always respecting the people, the wildlife, and the local rules and regulations in every location we fly," she said.
In the beginning, Nature Eye was in Africa.
"Then we expanded our geography outside of Africa to South America to Asia, to places in the United States. And now we have 11 locations live on our website people can fly," she said.
Our African flight was at Elephant Sands, Nata, Botswana and unlike Machu Picchu the landscape is vast and having a guide our using the points of interest tab pays off. Joining me on the flight was Jonathan Duff, CEO and a former teacher.
"When I joined Nature Eye it became incredibly apparent to me that this was a tool that was going to allow students to engage in a way that they simply can't do in a school environment," she said.
That's because it is real-time, not VR, a tour, or something that is prerecorded.
"When they suddenly find they're flying a drone on the other side of the world, speaking with a guide based in that location it's really unique. It increases the learning and teaching they're already doing," she said.
What makes it possible are state-of-the-art drones with powerful lenses, high-speed internet, 5G and Starlink satellites. Access is reasonable.
"So, for any Nature Eye flight is $95. You can choose from all of our different locations around the world. For that you get a 30-minute flight and we have a guide at each location," she said.
You also get a two-fer.
"You're able to invite a guest... And you get to take photos that you can download after," he said.
For more information click here.