Waitaki Whitestone Geopark Trustees are pleased to announce the launch this Friday 6 September of the Whitestone Geopark app, a mobile phone-based tool to help people explore the Waitaki Whitestone Geopark, and which provides the user with information on geological, heritage and cultural sites around the district.
The app is available on both android and Apple and FREE to download from the Apple store and Google Play. Highlights are:
Victorian Precinct Walking Tour: Take a stroll through history on this walking tour through the historic areas of Oamaru. You're going to see 1884 Oamaru through the eyes of Alexander McMaster (an early European settler in North Otago, who built a stone homestead at Tokarahi)
Geo-Highlights (Inland Tour): This driving tour will take you through some of the Geo-Highlights of the Waitaki Valley, mostly along the SH83.
Waitaki Coast Tour: This tour winds its way along the Waitaki coast by way of SH1.
Geo-Vistas: This driving tour will take you through the most beautiful and picturesque spots in the Geopark. Perfect for photographers and bloggers.
Future plans include a Geogastronomy tour called Eat the Park which will link local producers to their nearest geosite and to each other.
The geo fencing technique employed by the app means that if you have a tour open on your phone it will alert you that you are near a site in your vicinity. Downloaded, it will work offline so coverage isn’t an issue. Packed with fun geo facts, it’s just like having a geologist in your pocket – a geologist and a museum director, an historian, a storyteller, and eventually a shopping guide …
Geopark Manager Gerard Quinn said the app was another great step on the path to creating awareness of the district’s rich geological, historical and cultural offerings. It was a great way for independent travellers both international and domestic to explore the Geopark, learn something new and seek out places they might otherwise not visit. A quick link will be available on the Tours and Trips page of the Whitestone Geopark website: