My Maps

April 18, 2010 at 16:32 (Web 2.0 Adventure)

Franz Joseph Glacier

I remember a time when people used to get lost. Not in the primary-school kind of way (get it?) .. but, hmm. Anyhoo, don’t you remember struggling with a Melways or roadmap, twisting it at all angles in a vain attempt to re-orientate yourself? I’m not that old, and I do! But as with all things Google, Google Maps has taken over the world. I can’t recall the last time I opened a paper map.. thing. My first point of call is always Google Maps. Especially ‘Get Directions’. I write them down, and off I go.

Auckland, at dusk

But I’m not pining for the good old days, here – I love the new days. It seems every second friend of mine now has an iPhone or equivalent thereof, so now the system is mobile – whenever we jump in the car, there’s no arguing about wrong turns, or speeding because we’ve gotten lost so now we’re running late. It’s brilliant. At the same time, there is a part of me that freaks out about ‘street view’ – the fact that I can look up the house I grew up in, and see my Mum’s gardening efforts .. well .. it’s weird.

My last holiday was in February, when I set off on a small solo tour of New Zealand. I have marked some of the main places I visited .. such a magic country, I think I could be very happy living there. I have also included a few photos .. not that any of them do the place justice.

The photos were reasonably simple to imbed .. but the Google Map. took. ages. I have a My Maps account, having made them in other classes (both at RMIT and Melb unis), but I just kept chasing my tail. Murphy’s Law, I suppose. But please .. admire my map. Worship it. Or at least glance at it for a moment .. to make it worth it!

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Milford Sound

Mt Cook