Earlier this month, Google announced that after a year of preparation, planning, and a lot of walking by a lot of volunteers, they had captured Street View footage of all 19 major South African national parks.
The imagery was captured by over 200 volunteers, who covered 900km on foot, carrying Google Street View (or perhaps Bush View in this case) backpacks each containing 15 separate cameras that both plotted their exact position, and captured a 360° image every 2 seconds.
Technology & Nature
SANParks Head of Communications, Janine Raftopoulis, said “Harnessing technology allows SANParks to showcase the 19 South African National Parks like never before. Google Trekker allows South Africans and foreigners to explore and discover what the different parks have to offer. We’re really excited that this introduces a new dimension to planning a trip and what better way to do it than through a virtual itinerary which you can then make reality.”
Similar programs have been implemented by Google to capture imagery of the Amazon and the Great Barrier Reef.
You can take a look at SA’s national parks on Google here: Discover South Africa