Walyunga joins the Smartreka maps in WA’s National Parks
Western Australia’s national parks have some of the most dramatic landscapes on the planet, with breath-taking views, magnificent forests, pristine beaches, spectacular waterfalls and astounding biodiversity of plants and animals.
Making it easier to navigate these natural wonders are the WA Parks Foundation’s Smartreka maps, delivered with the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) and in partnership with BHP.
The maps use built-in GPS capabilities on smartphone or tablet to plot real-time location. If downloaded while network access is available, this can be done without a network connection and without roaming charges.
Walyunga National Park is the latest in the series. Smartreka maps are also available for Fitzgerald River, Stirling Range, Cape le Grande, Francois Peron, Cape Range, Karijini, Kalbarri, Purnululu, and Millstream Chichester national parks. Maps for Leeuwin-Naturaliste, Yanchep, Walpole-Nornalup and D’Entrecasteaux national parks will be launched later this year.
“Recognising that many of our national parks have little or no mobile reception, we adopted the development of downloadable maps as one of our priority projects,” said the Hon Kerry Sanderson AC CVO, WA Parks Foundation Chair.
“These topographical maps are useful for planning your journey, navigating and tracking trails. They give information on accessibility, camping and caravan sites, facilities, look-outs and things to do.
“The Smartreka initiative dovetails well with current tourism and healthy lifestyle campaigns to promote visitor use, enjoyment and appreciation of our natural environment. It’s very pleasing to see that more people are exploring WA’s national parks, with DBCA statistics showing an estimated 8.5% increase in visitations from 2019-20 to 2020-21 and 21.25 million visits to parks in 2020-21.”
The free, interactive Smartreka maps can be accessed via the free Avenza Map app from either the Google Play Store or Apple iStore. Visit: https://www.ourwaparks.org.au/smartreka/
Also very useful is the WA Parks Foundation Park Guide, supported and developed by Scoop Digital and Localista in partnership with DBCA. Available on the Foundation’s website, this has up-to-date information on access, amenities, campsites trails, tours and attractions.
Park Guide by Localista & Scoop Digital
