Better Printing with Google Maps

If you are a keen New Zealand walker, angler, hunter, or other outdoor pursuit enthusiast you are probably already familiar with New Zealand Topographic Map. The application overlays the official New Zealand LINZ topographic maps on top of Google Maps to provide a level of topographic detail simply not available through Google Maps alone.

New Zealand Topographic Map has now added an improved printing function that allows the user to print a far better quality topographic map from the site than by simply printing directly from the Google Map itself. It works by taking the area the user has selected on the map, producing a printer friendly page by increasing the map resolution. The increased map resolution is achieved by cramming more tiles in to the space to be printed than you would normally see on-screen in a web page.

The results don't always look pretty on-screen, but lead to very good quality print-outs when sent to a printer. This is a simple but very effective technique for ensuring good results when printing map overlays with Google Maps.

Follow Penguin Happy Feet on Google Maps

In June of this year an Emperor Penguin, who was soon named Happy Feet, was found on Peka Peka Beach in New Zealand. The penguin had ventured about 2000 km north of his normal habitat in the Antarctic.

During his stay in New Zealand Happy Feet was cared for by Wellington Zoo. Now, however, he has been released back into the wild. He has also been fitted with a Sirtrack KiwiSat 202 Satellite Transmitter.

Thanks to Sirtrack you can now follow Happy Feet live on a Google Map as he undertakes his long journey home.

______________

Google Maps meet Maori Maps

This Google Map displays the locations of the tribal marae of Aotearoa New Zealand. A marae is a communal or sacred place, the centre of Maori identity and activity.

Maori Maps is a nationwide map of Aotearoa marae, with photos of each marae, contact and background information, and photographs. Currently the map displays marae in the Tai Tokerau (Northland) and Tamaki (Auckland) regions. Eventually the map will show all of Aotearoa’s more than 800 ancestral marae.

Maori Maps

________________

Scrolling Backgrounds with Google Map

Tourism New Zealand has implemented a very clever and striking website using Google Maps in conjunction with a series of related background images.

As you use scroll through the New Zealand 100% Pure website the background images change to create some impressive effects. The scrolling images are used to create animated clouds moving across still landscape images or to provide a narrative, for examples as the people portrayed in the images move around.

The effect of the scrolling images is hard to explain, so you really need to see it yourself on the 100% Pure website. When you visit the page notice how the Google Maps inset changes as you scroll the page to reflect the location of the current background image shown on the page.

New Zealand 100% Pure

_________________

There Be Gold ...

New Zealand Gold Permit Map

This Google Map has been created to help hobby gold fossickers stay off legally claimed land when looking for gold in New Zealand. Land that has already been granted a prospecting permit for gold is shown on the map in red.

It is possible to also view the gold permit layer on top of a detailed topographic map of New Zealand. The topographic layer use the official Land Information New Zealand 1:50,000 / Topo50 and 1:250,000 / Topo250 maps.

_____________

The Great New Zealand Outdoors Mapped

Mappa

New Zealand is renowned for its extraordinary geography and astounding scenery. Therefore, if you are in the country, you will want to check out this Google Map of outdoor activities.

The map features locations where you can go hiking, rock fishing, trout fishing and camping. You can filter the results by the type of activity that you are interested in and search by location.

Registered users of Mappa can add other outdoor activities to the map. The map also includes an embed function to add the map to your own website or blog.

________________

Christchurch Aerial View on Google Maps

Christchurch Post-Earthquake Aerial Photos

NZ Aerial Mapping Ltd, at the request of the NZ Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management (MCDEM), flew a Rockwell Commander 690 at 5,500 feet over Christchurch two days after the 22nd February earthquake, capturing imagery of the damage suffered by the city. As you can see from the shot of Christchurch Cathedral above the imagery provides an incredibly close aerial view of the city.

Koordinates has created this Google Map that lets you view the aerial imagery on Google Maps. Using Google Maps means that you are able to find locations in Christchurch using the underlying map tiles and zoom in on the new aerial imagery.

Donate to the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal.



________________

New Zealand Walks on Google Maps

New Zealand Walks Information

If there is one thing that New Zealand is not short of it is gorgeous countryside. If you fancy experiencing the best of New Zealand's spectacular glaciers, picturesque mountains and rolling hills then you should check out the nearly 3,000 walks mapped by New Zealand Walks Information.

All the walks can be accessed by location from the Google Map on the site's home page. You can select to view each individual walk on its own Google Map. The individual maps show the route of the walk, the distance and include an elevation profile.

Each walk also contains handy links to other walks nearby and their distance from your selected location.

________________

Christchurch Earthquake Google Maps

Christchurch 22 Feb 2011 Earthquake

This Google Map uses the Ushahidi map reporting system to record the latest news from Christchurch. The map shows closed roads, open hospitals, recovery centres and hazard zones.

Anyone can post a report to the map by sending an email to eqnzfeb@gmail.com, by sending a tweet with the hashtags '#christchurch', '#eqnz' or '#ChristchurchQuake' or by completing a short form.

Christchurch Quake Map

The Christchurch Quake Map allows you to play time-lapse visualisations of the 4,870 quakes and aftershocks that have struck in the Christchurch area since September 2010. It is also possible to view visualisations of the last seven days of quakes or the 47 that have hit today. The Google Maps plot earthquake data from GeoNet.

The animations show the epicentre of each shock and are colour-coded to show the depth of each quake and scaled to reflect the quake's strength.

Google Person Finder - Christchurch
Google have released a person finder application for today's Christchurch earthquake. Using the application it is possible to search for information or add information for someone who may have been affected by the earthquake.

_____________

Christchurch Buses on Google Maps

MetroMate

Now you never need to miss a bus in Christchurch again. Merging the official Christchurch bus stops and routes with Google Maps this application provides an invaluable tool for commuters.

Using the application you can view all the bus routes and bus stops on a handy Google Map. Place name searching allows hard-to-find bus stops and other places of interest to be tracked down easily. The application even provides a Street View of each bus stop on the map.

To find a bus, stop, eta or timetable, either enter a street / shop in the search box in the top left white box or zoom in on the map. Click on the icons to display the next bus's arrival times plus timetables. Favourite bus stops can even be stored for quick easy access next time you visit the site.

_____________

NZ Topgraphic Overlays on Google Maps

New Zealand Topographic Map

If you are a keen New Zealand walker, angler, hunter, or other outdoor pursuit enthusiast you’re likely to already be familiar with the official LINZ ‘NZTopo’ Topographic Map Series, traditionally purchased as printed paper maps. These topo maps have now been made even easier to use and access through New Zealand Topographic Map.

Overlaying the official LINZ topo maps on top of Google Maps provides a level of topographic detail simply not available through Google Maps alone. Both the Topo250 and Topo50 map series are made available for New Zealand, Stewart Island and the Chatham Islands.

Place name searching allows hard-to-find streams, peaks, huts, and other land features to be tracked down easily. If you want to share a location with a friend you can even add a map pin and label to the map, then send a link. More advanced users can add their own KML overlay they’ve created in Google Earth. You can even embed mini topo maps in your own website or blog.

For access to topo maps while on-the-road a mobile version of the service is available for iPhones, Android devices and other smart-phones. If available, the devices built-in GPS capabilities can even be used by the service to pin-point your current location on the map.

______________

Garage Sales on Google Maps

Salecator

Salecator is a Google Map mashup from New Zealand that displays upcoming garage sales.

It is possible to select garage sales from the map sidebar or by clicking on a map marker. If you click on a marker the address, date and time of the sale is displayed. It is also possible to view the Street View for each sale.

All listings displayed on the map are validated by date and expired listings are not shown. You can list a garage sale on the map by logging in with a Facebook account.

Also See

Weekend Treasure - thousands of US garage and yard sales on Google Maps. The site maps sales from dozens of online sources, including newspapers and Craigslist.

________________

Where Did You Lose Your Virginity Map

New Zealand Virginity Map

New Zealand television show Go Girls has created a Google Map for viewers to share with the world where they lost their virginity.

To add yourself to the map you just need to drop your 'virginity pin' on the map at the location where your first fumblings took place. If you don't want to share your first sexual experiences with the world you can just explore the map.

You can search the map by location or choose to view the 'hot spots' (at the moment Auckland seems the most popular place to lose your virginity). It is also possible to view the latest updates to the map.

If you do add your first sexual experience to the map you can choose from a selection of map pins that reflect the success of your first time and you can inform the world how long the experience lasted.

Hat-tip: Mapperz (don't bother searching for Mapperz on the map - I already did so and it looks like he hasn't added his virginity pin to the map)

________________

Video Driving Directions

Virtual Highway

New Zealand Transport Authority seem to have stolen a march on Google Maps and Bing Maps in the release of Virtual Highway. Virtual Highway provides video footage of key travel routes and maps of the New Zealand state highway network.

Google has applied for a European patent that includes "full-motion video of 360 degrees images, and live feeds from video cameras to provide enhanced driving directions". This seems to suggest that Google has plans for a Street View feature that includes panoramic video. This may possibly be in partnership with Immersive Media, who were involved in the development of Google Maps Street View.

Immersive Media are pioneers in the development of interactive panoramic videos that could easily be used in conjunction with Google Maps to provide driving directions with interactive video.

Microsoft are also working on video driving directions technology for Bing Maps. You can see a preview of their research into video driving directions in this video:



Both Microsoft and Google seem to be working on the idea of using interactive panoramic videos for their video driving directions. Virtual Highway however have just gone ahead and developed a system of driving directions enhanced with non-panoramic video.

Virtual Highway use video footage of requested routes so that users can watch their journey before actually setting out. As the video plays the corresponding location is shown on a moving Google Map. The user can even choose between four different types of maps to view.

Virtual Highway's use of video and Google Maps allows the user to see the road and surrounding area as well as determine their location on the accompanying map. Virtual Highway believe that this encourages safety by helping users get to know the road in advance of a journey.

I think it could be time for Google and Microsoft to put the pedal to the metal on their video driving direction plans.

________________

Google Map of New Zealand Broadband

The National Broadband Map

The National Broadband Map uses Google Maps to display broadband coverage in New Zealand. Broadband supply in the country has been identified in conjunction with New Zealand's network providers and telecommunications operators.

Users of the map are able to select any of the country's network providers to see where they provide coverage. Demand points for the health, education and government sectors can also be displayed on the map. Organisations and individuals can also use the map to submit their broadband requirements.

The National Broadband Map includes dynamic URL generation so it is possible to link to any view on the map. It is also possible to download data from the map in KML, CSV and XML formats.

Via: Mapperz

_______________

Interactive Shopping on Google Maps

Showstreet
Showstreet is a New Zealand Google Maps mashup that allows users to navigate a street level photographic view of shops and businesses in Auckland and to get details about individual stores by clicking on interactive links.

The screencast below gives a good overview of Showstreet's features,



Navigating Showstreet is pretty intuitive. Streets that have Showstreet coverage are shown on the map in blue. Click on a blue line to load the street view imagery. You can then drag the image, use the arrows at the side of the image or drag the female shopper icon to move along the street.

Businesses can sign up with Showstreet and have interior panoramic images of their stores appear on the map. Registered businesses can even log in and edit business details and post specials and updates.

_____________

Business & Tourist Map of New Zealand

Yellow Maps New Zealand

Yellow Pages in New Zealand has released a great new Google Maps mashup. As well as providing the expected business search the map also highlights NZ tourist spots, the best NZ drives, weekend getaways, the best camp-sites and NZ's Forest Parks.

Each point of interest on the map comes with an accompanying article and the option to view the street view of the location. If you zoom in on the map there is also the option to view a number of other layers, that include cash dispensers, medical centres and toilets. The map even has a great 'popular searches' option that provides quick links to the most popular searches on the map.

_____________

Cycling and Walking Journey Planner

New Zealand Journey Planner

The Greater Wellington Regional Council, New Zealand have created a cycling and walking journey planner for the those places that Google Maps just don't go.

The site provides directions for streets but also for walking tracks through parks and reserves. A custom routing engine was created for the map to provide directions for places that Google doesn't cover.

The map includes a predictive search address lookup of all the street addresses in the region. After you have searched for directions, the route is draggable. The map also shows an elevation graph and a calorie counter for the route.

The map was developed for the the Greater Wellington Regional Council by New Zealand based Google Maps development company ProjectX.

_____________

Transit Directions for Wellington, NZ

Google have added public transit directions for Wellington in New Zealand. Wellington is the first city in New Zealand to be given transit directions (you can bet it won't be the last).

Google Maps have worked with Wellington's Metlink to provide information across trains, buses, cable cars and ferries in the city.


Via: Mapperz & The National Business Review

_____________

Google Maps Adds Real Estate

Google Maps in Australia has added the option to search for real estate listings directly on Google Maps. The service has also been added to Google Maps in New Zealand. Here's the introductory video,



This new feature means that Australian users of Google Maps can search for up-to-date real estate listings directly on Google Maps. To use the new feature just enter a location in the Google Maps search box and choose 'real estate' from the drop down menu.



Results of your search are then tagged on the map and listed in the sidebar. Once the listings have been added to the map it is also possible to refine your search from options displayed in the sidebar. You can define the number of bedrooms you are searching for, the number of bathrooms, the type of property and the price range.

This new feature of Google Maps in Australia has some particular poignancy. The first ever Google Maps mashup, HousingMaps, by Paul Rademacher was a map of Craigslist housing listings. It is also significant because the Google Maps team is based in Australia.

Google Maps in the USA also has the option to search for real estate. In fact, as Alex Turnbull of Google Sightseeing has pointed out to me, using Google Maps Australia you can find real estate listings in many other countries including the UK and France. So it just seems a matter of time until the 'real estate' option is added to the search options for Google Maps domains outside of the US and Australia.

Via: Official Google Australia Blog & Mapperz

________________