Projects of the Pilanesberg Wildlife Trust

ParkView© soon to be installed!

By Hans Meier

A few years ago I started development of a visual database program ParkControl©. Originally ParkControl© was developed with the idea that information screens would be placed at convenient places in the Park so that visitors to the Park could access both current and historical data of animal sightings in the Park.

However ParkControl© has since developed into a park management tool. In order to make sightings data available to park visitors a ‘Lite’ version of ParkControl© i.e. ParkView© was developed with the support of members of game department at Bakubung.

For the convenience of Bakubung visitors ParkView© is installed on a PC with a touch screen at the Bakubung game office. Good news for park visitors is that the Copenhagen Zoo is funding the installation of a number of ParkView© consoles at in the Park. The test phase will begin shortly with the installation at Manyane. This will enable visitors to the centre to view current and historical sightings data and plan their game drives accordingly. Income from advertising on the console will go to the Pilanesberg Wildlife Trust. Should you be interested in advertising on this console please get in touch with Nicholas at Sevenga South Africa.

He can be contacted on 0836955581 or by E-mail at: Nicholas@sevenga.co.za

To learn more about Parkview© and/or ParkControl© visit www.parkcontrol.co.za

Park View Project

The most frequently asked question by visitors to Pilanesberg is "where can I see the lions, elephant…".

The best tool until now has been a map of the park on the wall where guests stick coloured pins in at the locations where they spotted game. These maps soon become tatty, illegible, and the pins are seldom removed before the next day, making many of the sightings outdated.

Mr. Hans Meier has developed a system over past few years for visitors to access game viewing information electronically by means of a touch screen.

The updates on sightings are primarily done from the game drive guides operating on the park. It is done via a call centre operated by Mr. Meier. However, this system also allows visitors to easily enter their own game sightings after a drive.

"Park View" is also useful to visitors to access other information on the park including descriptions of various sites (picnic, viewpoints, dams and more) and details on the various game that can be seen on the park.

Over the past few years this system was developed at one of the lodges and is now ready for broader implementation.

More information on "Park View" can be drawn from www.parkcontrol.co.za, and click on Park View.

The Pilanesberg Wildlife Trust developed an agreement with Mr. Meier whereby the Game View information will be updated twice daily and made available at selected sites. The first "Park View" will be installed at the newly rebuilt Pilanesberg Center, the most frequented spot on the park. It holds a restaurant, shop, and an information area.The majority of guests enjoy breaking their trip through the park by stopping over at this center.

The ParkView© touch screen will be mounted in a console and placed in the information room which is directly at the entrance foyer. A projector would also be installed to screen the information on the wall so that the information can be shared by more than one person at a time.

In time more such consoles will be installed at the main entrance gates and lodges.

Visitors to the Pilanesberg can look forward to this towards the end of June 2007.