Google Street View has been one of the cool ways to tour around the world without leaving your couch or wherever you are. It extends from taking virtual tours around cities, exploring landmarks and also to view underwater features like the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. It is definitely a fun tool.
However in Africa, Google has not extensively used their gear that includes cars with 360 degree cameras to map certain areas like major towns and post them on Street View. In the case of Kenya, Google recently partnered with the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, Samburu National Reserve, Lewa Wildlife Conservancy and Save the elephants to map Samburu National Reserve. It was the first instance for Kenya and now Google has announced its first foray into Uganda by announcing that Street View is now live for Kampala.
There are several places that have been mapped in Kampala that include the Kabaka’s Palace, Rubaga Cathedral, the Parliamentary Avenue and the likes. A careful look at the metadata in the maps reveals that the pictures were taken between March and June last year which is quite recent.
Uganda is the 5th African country after South Africa, Botswana, Swaziland and Madagascar to have Street view and it was done in cooperation with the municipality of Kampala and Entebbe. This move by Google should signal the tech giant’s intentions of mapping African and we can expect them to fully map other major African cities like Nairobi in the near future. If you have never visited Kampala, this is your chance to virtually tour around the city!
Source: Google Africa
