Terralink

Page URL:	http://www.terralink.co.nz/newsroom/press_releases_archive/2003_archive/17_december_2003.htm
Date Printed:	Friday, 10 September, 2010

New maps for popular recreational areas  17 December 2003 A new collection of detailed maps of New Zealand's most popular recreational and tourist areas have been designed, partly to cater for the huge growth in the number of people wanting to experience life in the wilderness. The maps are the most detailed ever produced for New Zealand, accurately indicating terrain contours, recreational and geographic features, tracks, huts, viewing lookouts, and parking, and are tailored to mark points of interest specific to each area. The latest release covers Hunua and Waitakeres, Waikaremoana and Whirinaki, Kaweka/Kaimanawa and Queenstown/Cromwell. They are the work of Terralink International, which has the most comprehensive and accurate physical land database of New Zealand. It has blended this with information collected from other public sources, such as Department of Conservation, Regional Councils, and Land Information New Zealand. But it has also incorporated information gathered from trampers and hunters to ensure the maps are user friendly and arm those heading into the outdoors with detailed information to help keep them safe. Accompanying the latest maps are updated versions covering Ruapehu and Tongariro, Aoraki/Mt Cook, Tararua Recreational Area, Mt Aspiring and Rees/Dart, Greenstone and Routeburn Tracks and the Milford and Kepler Tracks. The double-sided maps wrap all the required information into one, easy-to-use map. The 20 metre contours provide hunters and trampers with the finest level of detail available. "The aim was to tailor the maps to the specific needs of each recreational area and we've done them at a detailed scale not previously achieved," says Terralink's Cartographic Manager, Alistair Pearce. The comprehensive coverage provided in the maps not only contains intricate detail, they are attractive and take into account the increasing number of tourists coming to experience New Zealand's great outdoors. "There's a changing trend with more international visitors coming here as free, independent backpackers wanting to experience the wilderness without necessarily joining a fully-guided tour through the most popular National Parks," says Terralink's Julian Grainger. "These maps provide a good tool for those visitors who go into the bush. There is also an increase in the number of New Zealanders going hunting and tramping so there's a real need to help them prepare adequately." The development of Terralink's recreational maps fits with Tourism New Zealand research that shows international visitors to New Zealand are most interested in natural wonders, physical outdoor activities and wildlife activities. Based on that research and its own feedback, Alistair Pearce says Terralink will continue to develop and update its collection of recreational maps.