Amphitheatre Hike from Sentinel Peak car park.
Sentinel View of Amphitheatre in the Drakensberg Mountains in South Africa
Chain Ladder on Amphitheatre Hike in the Drakensberg in South Africa
We recently had the pleasure of staying at The Point Hotel Mossel Bay for a few nights while photographing a number of Virtual Tours in the Mossel Bay area (more on that over the next few months). This Hotel Virtual Tour of The Point Hotel shows its wonderful location, situated right on the point of the natural bay of Mossel Bay, below the St Blaize lighthouse, and right on the rocks! Looking out your hotel suite, one almost feels like you are on a ship!
Enjoy the 360 degree Virtual Tour of The Point Hotel Mossel Bay:
Click for full screen high definition Virtual Tour of The Point Hotel Mossel Bay
We recently visited the Addo Elephant Park in Port Elizabeth, home to hundreds of African Elephant. We parked the car at Hapoor Dam for about 2 hours, and sat watching these magnificent animals coming down to the dam to drink, cool down, and play!
In this 360 degree panoramic photo you can get an idea of how close these elephants were to us, and how big they are. Enjoy!
Elephants at Hapoor Dam in Addo Elephant Park in South Africa
Found right in the heart of Pretoria, locals will tell you that Loftus Versfeld Stadium IS itself the beating heart of Pretoria! Home to the Blue Bulls, a passionate rugby team, with hundreds of thousands of local rugby supporters who regularly bring the stadium alive all dressed in the iconic blue jersy of the Blue Bulls.
The Loftus Versfeld Stadium will host a number of games of the FIFA 2010 Soccer World Cup. Enjoy the 360 degree virtual tour!
Click for full screen high quality 360 degree Virtual Tour of Loftus Versfeld Stadium
The Ou Raadsaal (old Council Chamber), served as the first parliament of South Africa. The building was designed by Sytze Wopke Wierda in a classical style of Greek and Roman architecture. Originally supposed to be two storeys high, president Paul Kruger insisted a 3rd storey added so that it would not be shorter than the nearby hotel. The Ou Raadsaal building was restored in 1962, when the British Coat of arms over the entrance was replaced by the South African Republic’s coat of arms, a replica of the one originally sculpted by Anton van Wouw. After many years of planning and research, the Raadsaal was once again restored in 1992, in an effort to return it to its former glory.
Click for full screen high quality 360 degree Virtual Tour of the Riverbend Art Gallery
The Union Buildings in Pretoria are home to the form the official seat of the South African government and also house the offices of the President of South Africa, and have always been central to South African history. It is here that Nelson Mandela became the state President in 1994, changing the face of South Africa. The beautiful gardens around the Union Buildings are very well maintained, and offer a lovely garden park to stroll through and relax.
Church Square in Pretoria is home to a statue of Paul Kruger, the man famous for the Kruger National Park and the Kruger Rand coin that bears his name. Pretoria is the administrative Capitol of South Africa, and home to many historic buildings.
Click for full screen high quality Panoramic Virtual Tour of Church Square
Margate beach is already a hub of excitement for holiday makers arriving “early” to beat the December peak season madness. The sun came out (after a few weeks of rainy weather) in all its summer glory. Lifeguards where on duty, as unsual, and the beach was teaming with activity. Enjoy the Virtual Tour below (see if you can find the lifeguard…)
Click for full screen high quality Panoramic Virtual Tour of Margate Beach
The world is panoramic. We are able to turn our heads and look in all directions and get a feel for where we are, but the typical photograph can not capture that experience completely. But there is an answer, a technology, a methodology, that makes it possible to share the world around us in a 360 degree panoramic way, that really makes the viewer feel as though he is really there!
Many moons ago I was introduced to this technology (then only available on QuicktimeVR) and was immediately fascinated by the possibilities. Although back then the quality was very low, the concept was very real. Since that day I have always wanted to produce 360 degree high quality panoramic virtual tours, and make them available to the world. Just think, a person sitting in Germany can “virtually” see the view from the beach down the road from my home, without leaving his chair. World travel just stepped up to the next level!
Now, this dream of many years has finally been realized, and I now have all the equipment and experience (learning and improving techniques never stops) to offer some of the highest quality virtual tour photography available in South Africa!
This blog is where I will be sharing my experiences with you, and of course the final product!
Comments are always welcome. Please subscribe to the RSS feed for updates in your reader, and share the website with friends. My name is John Gore, by the way.
