Discover Africa Group will embark on a six-month journey from August 1, to capture 360-degree street view imagery of South Africa’s top wilderness, cultural and historic sites for Google Maps.
Google has partnered with Drive South Africa, a division of the Discover Africa Group, and South African Tourism for this initiative.
“We're looking for South Africans from all walks of life to nominate their favourite local trails and outdoor attractions to help us capture these gems using Google's custom-designed Google Trekker backpack camera,” said Jarred Manasse, Content Manager for Discover Africa Group. The street view trekker backpack is walked through pedestrian walkways or trails on foot, and automatically gathers images as it goes.
“We are very excited to back this opportunity to deliver the real South Africa to people all over the world via Google’s widely used platforms,” said Margie Whitehouse, Chief Marketing Officer of SA Tourism.
“We want to engage with individuals and local communities along the way, so that we can bring Mzansi’s (South Africa’s) best attractions to Google Street View. We want this to be a campaign by South Africans from all walks of life,” added Andre Van Kets, co-founder of Drive South Africa.
Wesgro, SANParks, Cape Nature and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife have also shown support for the project.
The first phase of the project has seen 22 volunteer trekkers cover 33 trails across the Cape Peninsula, including seven routes up Table Mountain, five beaches and three urban trails such as the Sea Point promenade.
The team has explored more than 150 kilometres on foot over a six-week period and will cover nature reserves across the country over the next few months.
To learn more or apply to volunteer as a local trekker, visit the #TrekSouthAfrica website.
