Dickson's five-year-old son Byron was also killed, and his wife Dusty and son Gabriel, 8, were injured.
Dickson, 45, played 17 matches for the Hawks from 1988-90 and two for the Brisbane Bears in 1991.
He was an emergency for Hawthorn in the 1989 grand final.
His most recent documentary, The Essence of the Game, was telecast on the eve of the AFL season.
Dickson also produced and directed The Passion to Play in 2001 and Shane Crawford Exposed in 2004.
He also took part in and won the major prize in the reality TV show Australian Survivor in 2002.
Dickson was due to join the AIS-AFL Academy team on its South Africa tour next week.
AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou said staff at the AFL were devastated by Dickson's death.
"Rob was a personal friend and a great and positive force in life," Demetriou said.
"He was a wonderful filmmaker but above all he was a wonderful person who brought enormous empathy to what he was doing, whether it was filming a NAB Auskick clinic or Sam Mitchell standing in the middle of the MCG savouring a premiership medal.
"He was a friend to so many of us at the AFL and in the wider football world.
"I don't think there is one person at any level of the game who has met him who was not the better for being in his company because he was so passionate about life and our game.
"He was one of those rare people who could capture on film the passion and beauty of the game and to articulate in images exactly what we all love about the game but struggle to be able to put into words."
Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett said, "We're all shattered by the news.
"Rob was a very creative individual and well known in the AFL and particularly the Hawthorn family. He has done some wonderful work and that will forever be a tribute to his professionalism.
"Our condolences go out to his broader family and our thoughts are with his wife Dusty and son Gabriel as they continue to be treated in hospital for injuries sustained in the accident and come to terms with the loss of their father, husband, brother and son."
Hawthorn will wear black armbands in their match against North Melbourne on Sunday.
Dickson's brother Don, speaking on behalf of the family, said the family was shattered by the news of the accident and family members were flying to South Africa.
He said the family had few details and were asking the media to respect their privacy until they had a better understanding of what had happened and the condition of Dusty and Gabriel.
"Our family is devastated by the news.
"Rob was a wonderful brother, a wonderful son and father to his boys. He just achieved so much in his life as a footballer, as a contestant on Australian Survivor and with his film production work - and also as a loving and kind father.
"He was really just a shining light.
"From an early age everything he turned his hand to he was sensational at, but above all he was such a wonderful person who we loved so much."
