This Was My Bucket List Drone Flight – and I Almost Ruined It

The Call That Started It All

It started with a phone call. One of those breathless, excited ones.

“There are dolphins out the front – heaps of them!” my friend Jenny said. Her place backs onto the ocean, and when Jenny says there are dolphins, you don’t ask questions. You just go.

My Long Love Affair with Dolphins

You need to understand something: I’ve been obsessed with dolphins for a long time. Ever since I first swam with them in Mexico – over 25 years ago – they’ve had my heart. I can’t quite explain it, but being near them just felt like home. There’s something about their energy, their playfulness, their presence… I’ve never felt anything like it. From that first swim, I was hooked.

And ever since then, I’ve chased them – in the best way. If there was even a slight chance of a dolphin encounter, I was there. When my son Jordan was little, I dragged him onto every dolphin-watching cruise I could find. We swam with dolphins off in Australia, and every time we visited Hawaii, I found a way to get us near them again. It became a bit of a tradition. Or maybe an obsession. Let’s go with tradition.

Jordan, bless him, used to quietly vanish on these cruises. He knew what was coming. The moment someone shouted “Dolphin!” I would light up like a kid in a candy store – pointing, squealing, eyes wide, completely in my element.

From his perspective, I imagine it was… a lot. There’s something uniquely humbling about realising that, in your child’s eyes, you might be the most embarrassingly enthusiastic grown-up on the boat. But he never said a word – he just gently disappeared into the background, while I lost my mind (and sometimes my indoor voice) over flippers in the distance.

Chasing the Dream Shot

So, back to the phone call. Jenny says “dolphins,” and I grab my drone – no spare battery charged, of course – and bolt out the door like a woman on a mission.

This was one of those dream flights. A bucket list kind of moment. Dolphins from the sky. Sleek bodies cutting through turquoise water. A moment of wild magic captured from above.

Except… I couldn’t find them.

Up in the air, everything looks smaller. Flatter. Less obvious. The ocean stretches out and the dolphins – those playful, obvious, show-offy dolphins – disappear into ripple and reflection. I was flying blind. I scanned and scanned, zig-zagged the drone over the bay, filmed for minutes hoping I’d catch a flicker of movement. Nothing.

Running on Empty

Then – the battery warning beeped. That horrible sinking feeling. I’d been so focused on chasing shadows that I hadn’t noticed time draining away. I hit Return-to-Home, my heart sinking faster than my drone. By the time I landed, I thought I’d missed it. Game over.

But I’m nothing if not stubborn. I raced home, grabbed my backup battery, hoping it was at least partially charged and drove back to the beach for round two.

The Comeback (and the Magic)

And this time – they were there.

Not out to sea. Right in front of me. A huge pod – maybe forty, maybe fifty dolphins – dancing in the surf like they were putting on a show just for me. You could see them with the naked eye now, slicing through the shallows, jumping, circling each other in some kind of joyful underwater ballet.

I launched the drone and this time I didn’t have to chase shadows. I followed them effortlessly, watching as they moved through the water like a single living, breathing thing. It was one of the most breathtaking things I’ve ever filmed. Not just because of the dolphins – but because of what it took to get there.

The Lesson I Didn’t Expect

Sometimes, drone flying is cinematic and smooth. Other times, it’s missed moments, dead batteries, and running on instinct. But every so often, if you’re lucky –  if you try again even when you think you’ve blown it, you get a second chance – you get a flight that stays with you forever.

This was that flight.
And for a dolphin-chasing, candy-store-hearted woman like me?
It was everything.

If you’ve ever had a moment like this on film — don’t just store it. Here are creative ways to use your drone footage and share your story too.