Hear what South Africa really has to offer

Local and international travellers will now be able to rediscover South Africa in a new way, thanks to a new set of products developed by AudioTrex: GPS Audio Tours. Audio Tours are available for purchase and download from South African map data provider, Garmap.

According to Dr. Chris Crozier, chief technology officer of Garmap, South Africa is filled with some of the most spectacular sights and sounds that remain the country’s best kept secret.

‚Because of South Africa’s rich history and amazing natural resources, it offers both local and international travellers a huge diversity of places to see and things to do ‚ if you know where to find them, and therein lies the challenge,‚ he says.

‚Without detailed local knowledge or a dedicated tour guide, it’s difficult to find new and interesting places to experience without having to trawl the Internet and various guide books.

‚This is why we partnered with AudioTrex – to develop an affordable and easy-to-use product that can alert you to literally thousands of interesting facts and points of interest while you drive around South Africa.‚

Garmap Audio Tours can be purchased and downloaded directly from the Garmap website at www.garmap.co.za

They are compatible with selected Garmin nüvi, StreetPilot and zümo GPS devices and currently feature audio tours of 17 geographical areas dotted around South Africa.

AudioTrex’s Adrian Coetzee says that each audio tour is voiced over by professional voice artists and can be enabled and disabled on the GPS device with ease.

With audio tours enabled on your GPS device, the application automatically detects your location and when you come within the vicinity of a point of interest or attraction, the application will begin telling you about the nearby attraction and any interesting facts associated with it.

‚It’s a simple system to install and use, but it’s extremely powerful and will ensure that you never miss a single tourist attraction on your route,‚ Coetzee explains.

He says that there are two ways to enjoy GPS audio tours. When the tour guide feature is enabled, you can either use the GPS to route you to your destination and listen to the audio tour, or you can just drive around with the GPS in standby mode and ‚stumble upon‚ attractions that you may not have known were in the area.

‚The areas that trigger each tour are large enough to ensure that you don’t narrowly miss an attraction but small enough to ensure that you’re not being told about an attraction that is many kilometres away,‚ Coetzee says.

While the tours are ideal for the travel and tourism industry ‚ and particularly foreigners that come to South Africa for holidays – the real target market is South Africans who want to learn more about the attractions in their own back yard.

‚I’m sure I speak for many South Africans when I say that I have lost count of how many times I have driven past a monument or building and wondered what its significance was,‚ says Crozier.

‚AudioTrex Audio Tours are a great way to help people rediscover South Africa in a safe and convenient way ‚ without the risks of getting lost, or the frustration of endlessly driving around trying to find an attraction or destination that is difficult to find with a map book or directions printed off the Internet,‚ he concludes.

Prices for AudioTrex Audio Tours vary from R99 to R349 per tour and are available for purchase and download from Garmap’s website (www.garmap.co.za).