Explore cave world without leaving home
Soon you will be able to explore the world renowned subterranean world of Waitomo without leaving your house.
Google 360 has been filming inside Ruakuri Cave in preparation for its launch onto Google Maps.
It will be the first cave system in New Zealand to be officially incorporated into Google Maps, Google New Zealand special collect operations lead Matthew Jenke said.
‘‘You will be able to take a virtual tour through the cave and see stalactites and stalagmites,’’ Jenke said. ‘‘The 360-degree imagery we’ve taken goes up on Google Maps and then you at home can take the little yellow peg man and end up inside the cave underground.’’
The idea is to enable people to explore some of New Zealand’s most beautiful sites, Jenke said.
Jenke went down and took the footage with Logan Doull, who is part of the operations team for the The Legendary Black Water Rafting Company.
It took around six hours to film inside the cave. Usually Jenke would use the Google Trekker, a high-tech digital imaging device, to capture off-road scenery, but the low light and potential for damage meant the camera couldn’t be brought inside. Instead, Jenke took a panoramic shot every five metres using a DSLR tripod setup to capture the cave.
Jenke used the Google Trekker to film the Ruakuri Bush Scenic Reserve, which took a panoramic Street View image every 35 seconds. This will go online the same time as the cave footage.
‘‘It’s super beneficial not just locally but internationally to have the caves mapped,’’ Jenke said. ‘‘A few sites have been captured globally, but these are the first caves in New Zealand to be on Google Street View.’’
But forget people forgoing the real thing in favour of a screen version, Jenke said.
‘‘Nothing truly beats the real experience and nothing will compare or excel the real thing.’’
The cave also hasn’t been mapped out in its entirety, he said.
‘‘We spaced out panoramas more than what we normally would and left out bits we thought would be cool, so visitors can still get surprises when they go in.
‘‘What makes Ruakuri different is the glowworms, as well as the formations and length of the cave, it is very impressive.’’
Getting the cave up onto Google Street View allows locals and internationals to virtually explore, Jenke said.
A virtual reality experience is not something The Legendary Black Water Rafting Company has considered, Doull said.
In southern France a replica of the Lascaux cave has been built to give visitors the experience of wandering through the real cave without any risk of damage.
‘‘We still want to keep tours as authentic as possible,’’ Doull said.