Do I need a new map?

[+cachemaster84]

My wife and I are going to Africa in less than a month. We are trying to think about everthing we are going to need before we leave. When I started to program a few stops in my Garmin 60CSx I realised that I may need a new map. Does anyone have any suggestions? We don't even know where to begin. This is our first time out of the country and we hope to have a blast!

 

Thanks!!!

[+AndyT1]

Whereabouts in Africa? There are several mapsets available, some suited to city navigation and others that do a good job of covering the offroad / hiking stuff.

 

For city Nav look at www.garmap.co.za

 

For the other stuff try http://tracks4africa.co.za/

 

I also use the free maps available at http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl/

[+cachemaster84]

Whereabouts in Africa? There are several mapsets available, some suited to city navigation and others that do a good job of covering the offroad / hiking stuff.

 

For city Nav look at www.garmap.co.za

 

For the other stuff try http://tracks4africa.co.za/

 

I also use the free maps available at http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl/

Thanks so much for the help. We will be in South Africa.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

Whereabouts in Africa? There are several mapsets available, some suited to city navigation and others that do a good job of covering the offroad / hiking stuff.

 

For city Nav look at www.garmap.co.za

 

For the other stuff try http://tracks4africa.co.za/

 

I also use the free maps available at http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl/

Thanks so much for the help. We will be in South Africa.

 

Where in South Africa. Johannesburg and it's nearby cities is quite modern. Travel 100 miles from the city center though and it changes quickly.

 

I've used the open street maps in South Africa and the detail was fairly good around Johannesburg and nearby cities (Pretoria, Centurion). I imagine that if you go to Cape Town the coverage will be fairly good as well. I've also used OSM maps in Tanzania. Although the major roads in Dar Es Salaam and "major highways" were covered the detail drops significantly once you get to less populated areas. Still, I'm guessing that the OSM maps are about the best you're going to find and almost certainly good enough to find a few caches.

 

I would suggest researching the caches available in the areas where you'll traveling and read the logs. There was a cache that I considered doing in Pretoria that was about a mile from where I was going to stay. After reading the logs I decided against it as there were a couple of logs which mentioned people getting mugged in the area. I've been to Africa three times and have never felt unsafe but I know that there are a lot of places that are *not* safe, especially at night.

[+AndyT1]

Whereabouts in Africa? There are several mapsets available, some suited to city navigation and others that do a good job of covering the offroad / hiking stuff.

 

For city Nav look at www.garmap.co.za

 

For the other stuff try http://tracks4africa.co.za/

 

I also use the free maps available at http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl/

Thanks so much for the help. We will be in South Africa.

 

Ok, that is where I am as well.

 

Download the opensource maps and have a look at them in Mapsource / Basecamp, see what you think.

 

Of the three mapsets the Tracks4Africa stuff will be of least use to you in urban areas - they are not created for that purpose.

Around here the Garmap stuff is considered the best for general navigation.

 

Garmin do make a City Navigator product which I would steer away from - I have them on my 3760 (they came with the unit) and am not impressed. Too much missing data.

I ended up having to buy the Garmap product as well.

 

If you need more info please ask. I am only too willing to help.