Cape Town: Shark Spotters has launched a new app!

Shark Spotters, the primary shark safety programme used in Cape Town, has launched an innovative app to assist swimmers and surfers to be more shark smart at Cape Town's beaches. The app provides water users with all the latest shark safety information at the city's beaches, including which flag is currently flying and why. The flags fly for various reasons, including:

• poor spotting conditions due to cloud cover
• shark sightings
• an indication of water temperature
• the lunar phase
• an indication of whether the shark exclusion barrier in Fish Hoek has been deployed or not

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The app is updated by the Shark Spotters on duty in real time so users can be assured that they always have the most current information at their fingertips to help them make a personal assessment about shark risks when entering the water.

The Shark Spotters app also provides information regarding:

• weather conditions
• marine animal activity in the area (such as whales, seals, dolphins, sunfish etc.)
• the details of amenities on the beaches
• short surf videos of isolated surf spots covered by the programme that do not have live web-cams in operation
• safety tips to reduce the risk of encountering a shark
• information about shark activity in Cape Town

The Shark Spotters app is available on iOS and Android platforms and is free to download. 
    

Cape Town: Spring and Summer Months = Shark Time! >>

New mobile phone app: "Madiba's journey"!

South African Tourism and the Nelson Mandela Foundation launched the "Madiba-inspired tourist attractions" map, which encourages tourists from around the world and South Africa to travel the country and walk in the footsteps of Nelson Mandela, in 2014. The map has now been developed into a GPS-enabled mobile phone app to further enhance visitors’ experiences in South Africa. The app uses location-based services and features tourist sites as well as general places of interest, including Mandela's post-presidential office at the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory in Johannesburg, the Nelson Mandela Statue at Union Buildings in Pretoria, Nobel Square at the V&A Waterfront, Robben Island and Pollsmoor Prison (all in Cape Town) and Qunu in the Eastern Cape, where Madbia was laid to rest.

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The app "Madiba's journey" is now available for download in English from the Apple iTunes store (iOS devices) and the Google Play store (Android devices). It will soon be available in other languages, including Afrikaans, Zulu, Xhosa, Dutch, French, German, Italian, simple Mandarin and Portuguese.

Airports Company South Africa (ACSA): Free App to navigate airports

Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) has released its first free airport application for smartphones and tablets. The app assists passengers to navigate any of ACSA's nine airports in South Africa, including OR Tambo Interantional Airport in Johannesburg, Cape Town International Airport in Cape Town and King Shaka International Airport in Durban. The app, which is available for download on Android, Apple iOS and Blackberry devices (except for the Q and Z series), is called "Airports Company South Africa" and provides the user with tools to find shops and restaurants, airline, travel and traffic information, weather reports and customer care details.

• Flights: Search for flights can be done via a flight number or an advanced search option as well as checking in online. Once the flight is activated, any changes related to the flight will be visible to the passenger on their mobile device.
• Shop and Dine: A selection of restaurants and shops to choose from can be searched either by category, terminal or name. A currency calculator is also available.
• At the Airport: A list of the airlines that operate at the respective airports, as well as their contact numbers are provided. There is also a list of frequently asked information and contact details of the Customer Care department as well as the airport. Users will have access to a map of the airport developed in conjunction with TomTom and Micello Indoor Maps. This allows the passenger to search for, and be routed to, a location at the airport. Parking options and other information such as a parking cost calculator are also available. Weather updates of conditions at the airport are sent through on an hourly basis.
• To and From the Airport: Traffic updates mean travellers can plan their trip to the airport more effectively. Also, there are listings and contact details of the car rental companies, Gautrain, taxis, and shuttle services.

(Mobile) gaming for good: "WWF Rhino Raid" for iOS & Android

The World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) South Africa and Flint Sky Interactive have teamed up to develop a mobile game that delivers anti-poaching messaging and facts about rhinos. WWF Rhino Raid is an exciting sidescrolling runner that tells the story of Rad the Rhino and his quest to save his species by outwitting the poachers. The game, which is already available on iTunes and will come out for Android phones on 23 April 2013, costs US$1.99 (or equivalent). By buying the game, you are supporting WWF South Africa to save South Africa’s rhinos through the organisation's numerous rhino conservation projects and counter poaching initiatives.

WWF Rhino Raid Game Trailer from Flint Sky Interactive on Vimeo.

Behind-The-Scenes: Your bag's journey after you've checked in (video)

To promote a free mobile app that allows you to track your luggage, Delta Air Lines made the following video that shows you where your bags go after they pass through those black rubber flaps at the airport.
Due to "security reasons", and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the probably most interesting part of the bag's journey from Atlanta to New York in the US could not be filmed, but it is still good to see that they handle your luggage with a certain care at the two aiports. Let's just imagine that this is how they do it everywhere in the world. Thx Delta!

Kenya: Spot wildlife with a camera-trap iPhone app

Biologists from the Zoological Society of London recently released a fascinating new iPhone App called "Instant WILD" which transmits images from motion-sensing cameras in Kenya and other locations (Sri Lanka, Mongolia & the UK) to your smartphone (iPhone only) whenever a creature wanders into view.
Those camera traps are a tool widely used in conservation work. They take a photo when a motion sensor detects movement within the field of view, and within a certain range. With the App you'll receive notifications (and the photo) when a camera you've elected to follow, such as the one in Kenya, takes a new photo.
The camera in Kenya is situated in communally owned land in the Tsavo-Amboseli ecosystem.
 Beside the fact the "Instant WILD" is a fun app to have (get us an Android version!!), the actual main idea behind the app is to help researchers monitoring wildlife by identifying the animals in these live photographs. Anyway, the "Instant WILD" app is for free and can be downloaded form Apple's App Store!