Hi-tech dip into Kiwi wilderness
Have you ever dreamed of exploring New Zealand’s wilderness but never had the time or money to do it?
New Zealand Geographic, the Sir Peter Blake Trust and WWF have joined forces to make New Zealand’s natural environments more accessible by using virtual reality.
NZ Geographic publisher and NZVR Project director James Frankham said the technology allowed access to locations that were otherwise too remote or vulnerable.
“This is particularly true for the marine environment because it’s covered by 30 metres of salt water.
“Few people have been underwater, and even fewer in a truly pristine environment. Unless we experience something, we can’t really care for it and this project is about using experience to build empathy for our wild places.”
The videos go live today and can be accessed on any internetconnected device by opening a browser to vr.nzgeo.com, with or without VR headsets. In addition to the NZ-VR release, the Sir Peter Blake Trust will offer a curriculumconnected virtual reality programme to all NZ schools from early next year.
Trust chief executive James Gibson said the programme would allow everyone using it to experience the environment so they would be inspired to care for it.
He said the trust wanted to deliver an “immersive experience to schools” so students can see what damage is being done to the ecosystem.
“They’ll come away from this learning experience with actions they can take to protect the marine environment and gain a much deeper sense of kaitiakitanga,” he said.
Crews captured the environments at the remote islands of the Three Kings, Parengarenga Harbour, Poor Knights, and in the Hauraki Gulf.
A separate chapter was filmed in Niue.