Cape Town - Harrowing footage of South Africa's current drought situation will have you wishing for rain and praying for the dry Free State this festive season.

Drones flying over the country's Verkeerdevlei Toll Plaza, on the N1 in Bloemfontein, captured video of South Africa's so-called 'city of roses' in a rather dreary state.

South Africa has been experiencing one of its worst droughts and heatwaves in history, seeing the death of livestock and crops and it's water resources run dry over the festive period.

The video was shot by the Phantom 3 Professional Footage group who explained that on their way to Cape Town, they had stopped at the toll plaza to get a closer look of how the Free State was holding up. The footage was taken with the Phantom 3 Pro camera drone.