Click and you're in the bush

29 July 2015 - 02:08 By Shaun Smillie

Google will be giving the Kruger National Park the same de luxe treatment it gave Robben Island. Google announced in April the first-ever Street View imagery of Robben Island, with a special audio-visual tour of the Unesco World Heritage site that included interviews with former inmates and close-ups of the cell Nelson Mandela occupied.Now Google's trekkers will walk on the wild side, heading out on foot with cameras on their backs, fearlessly taking on the scorching heat and the Big Five.Google SA spokesman Mich Atagana said a Street View of Cape Town's Table Mountain was also a work in progress.She added that documenting the Kruger National Park at ground level came with numerous challenges.The difficulty of the terrain means Google will often have to use 4x4 vehicles instead of the usual Google Street View cars.And the trekkers will have to cover some ground on foot."We would have to make sure that they are safe," Atagana said.She said Google SA still had to determine how much of Kruger National Park's area would be covered or what add-ons would be included. Currently there is a limited street view of the park that covers some of the roads.Google's Table Mountain Street View is also still limited.Other Unesco sites that have been given the Google treatment include the Egyptian pyramids.The aim of the project is that one can become a virtual tourist simply by logging on...

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