We travel extensively in Kruger National Park and are always asked the same two questions: what did you see, and where did you see it? The Virtual Tour Guide is our answer - a platform that turns those sightings into something anyone can follow, learn from and contribute to.
We are bush lovers, travellers, software engineers, videographers and directors of short films and series. In 2003 the concept was born: bring sightings to a virtual platform. We had no idea what technology would eventually allow us to do, so we started small - an application used by field rangers to monitor and track their wildlife.
As platforms changed, the software followed. Sightings Tracker arrived on Android in 2009 and later on iOS, opening the app to visitors. With greater cell coverage and lower data costs, sightings started reaching the server in real time - and as users grew, so did the data. Before long it was showing patterns and statistics on a scale we had never had access to before.
Sightings Tracker has matured into The Virtual Tour Guide. The software is now far more dynamic in its ability to add new information and new places, and it is intended to become the new standard in travel software.
Why this matters for conservation arrow_forwardAs film directors, producers and videographers - and formerly terrible amateur photographers - we decided that showing people a pile of photos was a poor way to describe a trip. We would rather take video.
In February 2021 we went to Kruger to film everything. On our return we started Bush Therapy, a channel of vlogs, animal videos, nature videos, how-to film-making guides and learning content - with the Virtual Tour Guide used to complement it.
Each version of the software was built because the previous one could not answer a question we cared about.
Bringing sightings to a virtual platform started as an idea around a campfire in the Lowveld. At the time there was no technology that could do what we imagined - so we built the first version ourselves.
The earliest application was used by field rangers to record and track the wildlife they monitored. It ran on whatever hardware we could get our hands on - including Windows Phone CE, which we would rather forget.
Sightings Tracker launched on Android (and later iOS). Visitors could log in, capture their own sightings and - as coverage improved and data became affordable - upload them to a central server in real time.
In February 2021 we headed to Kruger National Park to film everything we could. Bush Therapy was born on our return: vlogs, animal and bird videos, nature soundscapes, gear reviews and how-to films for people who cannot be in the bush as often as they would like.
Sightings Tracker matured into The Virtual Tour Guide - a more dynamic platform that adds new information and new places without needing a new release. Live sightings, species references, parks, points of interest, historical sites and Bush Therapy content all live in one place.
Everything on this site exists to answer the same question: what is out there, and where?
Reports from visitors and rangers, with location and time, so the bush is visible to anyone with a connection.
Open the map arrow_forwardMammals, birds, trees, grasses and reptiles of the South African national parks, with images and descriptions.
Browse species arrow_forwardEdge AI detection, sensor data and machine learning working alongside the people protecting the parks.
How the AI helps arrow_forwardSafari soundscapes, bird volumes, trip reviews and gear tests - the bush, filmed properly.
Watch the channel arrow_forwardSponsorships, partnerships, film enquiries, corrections to a species record or a problem with the app - email is the fastest way to reach us. We read everything, even when the reply takes a trip or two.
...as much as we have enjoyed making it. Add a sighting, browse the species or simply watch the bush for a while.