All South Africa’s national parks are now on Google’s Street View imaging platform. The company, working with a team of South Africans, has released a large collection of 360-degree imagery from the parks, it said.
Google revealed the news about the new imagery at the 10th anniversary celebration in Sandton on Thursday evening of the opening of its first office in Africa.
The announcement of 170 new trails in South Africa’s national parks and reserves follows on from The Mzansi Experience launched in March 2016, which showcased prominent tourist attractions such as Kruger National Park, Table Mountain and Cape Point, among others.
“The new trails, launched today, extend the existing Street View imagery of South Africa’s wilderness areas to include all 19 national parks, 17 previously ‘un-trekked’ nature reserves and many sites of natural, cultural and historical significance in all nine provinces of South Africa,” the company said.
More than 200 South African volunteers were involved in the 12-month project. Many were SANParks, CapeNature and KZN Ezemvelo Wildlife rangers and guides. Others were hikers, nature lovers and tech enthusiasts.
“The hundreds of volunteers who helped along the way proved to be truly passionate about showing the best of South Africa through their participation in the loan programme,” said Google programme manager Magdalena Filak.
The project forms part of Google’s Street View camera loan programme, which encourages anyone to apply to borrow the 360-degree camera technology and help map the planet.
22kg backpacks
The team of volunteers was coordinated by loan programme partner Drive South Africa. “The Trekker camera is a 22kg custom-made backpack fitted with 15 cameras pointing in all directions. The on-board technology plots the camera’s exact location on the trail. While recording, the camera takes a 360-degree photo every two seconds. It’s basically the off-road equivalent of Google’s Street View cars,” said Van Kets in a statement.
Some of the sights on Street View now include Table Mountain and the five-day Otter Trail. Users can see Mapungubwe Hill, the Richtersveld, Drakensberg mountains, and the iSimangaliso Wetland Park.
To showcase the launch of South Africa’s new Street View imagery, Drive South Africa has launched a microsite that gives would-be travellers a virtual experience of South Africa. The microsite, called South Africa in 360 — which was inspired by a similar project showcasing the US national parks — is an immersive virtual reality experience through South Africa’s four top tourist destinations and a collection of its lesser-known gems, Google said.
To capture the new Street View footage, Google photographed 170 new trails, covering a total of 900km. More than 230 points of interest were recorded. — (c) 2017 NewsCentral Media
