Road testing a guide which is great –Robin Brown

Did you know that there is a pair of breeding Peregrine Falcons nesting in the cooling towers of the Athlone power station? And that the birds can dive on prey at speeds up to 288km/h? Not fully convinced, I checked the facts on Google and came up with the same answers.

Also, in 1908, the Cape Town horse-driven cab drivers staged a protest against the use of motor cars on Cape Town roads.

I learnt this and other, very interesting facts, this past weekend while road testing a GreatGuide GPS.

Recently, at a dinner party, we met Brian Segal the MD for the GreatGuide. He described it as the ultimate tourist guide, available on hire for any visitor, especially on their first trip to Cape Town. It can also be set in several languages.

He described the instrument as a navigational guide, advice guide, audio guide and it offers a personal itinerary.

We had, on several occasions in Europe, made use of an electronic guide while touring historical buildings plus used a GPS on the road, but never a dedicated GPS based tour guide.

We collected the GPS on a Friday and had the organisation programme in a random three day itinery, which I intended, over the long weekend, to test to the ultimate.

It is as easy to use as one, two, three and we plugged it into the cigarette lighter socket, stuck it on the windscreen and switched it on, and bingo, as we set off, it started guiding.

As I had business in Somerset West I selected map, put in an address and set off.

Now, I am used to the boring, and sometimes irritating, voice that prompts and directs one on an ordinary GPS but not with the GreatGuide.

As we passed various landmarks, I, as a Capetonian of more than 40 years, began to learn more and more about the city I live in. And the voices changed constantly as the talking guide described the areas of interest.

And this is where I learnt about the falcons plus plenty of other interesting facts.

Amusing to the locals, but of note for visitors, is the hints and tips that randomly are related while on the move.

It hinted on how to deal with the plethora of taxis and how to avoid a confrontation, plus, what to do at a traffic light when the many beggars and on the hoof salespeople approach.

The guide has a battery and can be used away from the car while walking the streets of Cape Town or surrounding towns. In fact, the guide advises that the real way to get to know the city is to walk.

And so the normal boring journey to Somerset West and back became interesting, all while the GreatGuide explained the various townships and how they came about and grew, plus an interesting snippet that by 2020 the population in greater Cape Town will double in numbers.

It also feeds one different info everytime one passes the same point helping to keep the visitors interest up and not repeating itself.

The GreatGuide is available through the website www.greatguide.co.za and has audio coverage for Cape Town, Stellenbosch winelands, Overberg, Garden route to Port Elisabeth as well as Johannesburg, Johannesburg to Nelspruit and the Kruger Park and from the Kruger park via Swaziland to Durban.

At a hire rate of R99 per day, it is even worthwhile to locals hiring a unit for a day and learning more about our great city and the Boland.