Get more detail with the NZ Open GPS Project

I might like all maps, but I really love FREE maps!

 

Back in 2009, I wrote how to get free street maps from the NZ Open GPS project loaded into a Garmin Edge 705. As I look to venture into more mountain biking and perhaps even do a little more tramping I have found other maps from the NZ Open GPS Project that provide more detail and as such are far more useful when leaving tarmac.

 

For best results:

• Build UltraMaps (Free Open GPS NZ Combined mapset) with Mapsource and send to your GPS. Make sure that the ~700Mb gmapsupp.img file is copied to the Garmin folder of your Micro-SD card.
• Copy the gmapsupp.img file from  “Free Open GPS Autorouting” mapset into the Garmin directory for the internal memory of your GPS
• When on the road for latest maps and less screen clutter to help read street names disable the “Free Open GPS NZ Combined” mapset in Setup –> Maps
• When in the mountains or trails enable the “Free Open GPS NZ Combined” mapset in Setup –> Maps

Free Open GPS NZ Autorouting (~38Mb)

The Free Open GPS NZ Autorouting Maps (updated every weekly) are a well known and heavily used mapset. It includes all the NZ roads and are suitable for road navigation from a car, or a road based cycle tour or brevet. You can download the latest image from http://www.nzopengps.org/public/Direct_gmapsupp/ and copy it onto your GPS [instructions]. This mapset is about 30Mb is size.

 

 

Use this mapset if:

• You have limited storage
• You do not have Mapsource or Basecamp software
• Your journey is entirely on the road.

Free NZOGPS_DOC_SRTM (~220Mb)

For mountain biking or tramping, a little more detail may be cleaned from the NZOpenGPS_DOC_SRTM map set (last updated 2010) – this adds Department of Conservation tracks, streams, rivers as well contour lines from the NZ Topomap series, increasing the size to over 200Mb.

 

 

This mapset is updated infrequently. Probably best to miss this one.

I would generally recommend that you use either the Free Open GPS NZ Autorouting (above) or UltraMaps (below). But use this mapset if:

• You are venturing away from the roads and have limited storage capacity on your GPS.
• You don’t mind some old data and the screen is too cluttered, even after reducing detail when using the “UltraMaps” mapset

 

UltraMaps / Free Open GPS NZ Combined mapset (~700Mb)

 

“UltraMaps” or NZ Open GPS Combined set. Fully integrates the NZ Topo series with the routable street maps. This mapset is very complete at about 700Mb in size and may in some situations provide too much detail for a handheld GPS screen. It is not available prebuilt as a GMAPSUPP.IMG file, so it is more complex to install. You will need to have Garmin’s Mapsource or Basecamp software to build it and transfer it to your GPS.

 

This mapset was a little hard to find, but after delving into the forums of the NZ Open GPS project I came across a post from “Mr Purple” – thankyou sir. When installing it will be worth looking at more recent posts in the same forum to look for newer versions of this mapset.

MrPurple wrote:

LATEST VERSION includes latest changes to zoom levels, typ skin, and a recent road update.
Ive combined all the different ones I've made including Nevs improvements to the typ skin with the offical OS maps and provided an updater as a seperate program to grab any new OS road map you might install. To be clear the OS road updater doesnt update the OS roads, it grabs the OS roads you have installed and copies them into the combined map. You need to update the OS road maps yourself first.
Once you unzip the archive with 7zip you've got an installer with topo/title boundaries/OS roads/residual tracks
Part 1 of 4
Part 2 of 4
Part 3 of 4
Part 4 of 4
OS road updater
If you dont want any of the maps on your device just dont select them when you transfer, or better yet prepare multiple mapsets by renaming the gmapsup.img which you create to make mapsets that you can switch between.

 

 

This detail is fabulous when in the hills, especially on foot. In urban areas with a small  GPS sized screen it can be cluttered and getting the detail right so you see all the street names you desire can be a challenge.

 

Use this mapset if:

• You have plenty of storage
• You have Mapsource or Basecamp software
• You are spending time in the mountains or trails

 

 

The Ultimate Combination…

As per the “for best results” summary at the beginning of this post, I am now having my cake and eating too. When navigate the cities and towns of New Zealand I am disabling the “Free Open GPS NZ Combined” mapset. There may be other ways to achieve these same means but this is a simple and easy to understand method of achieving this result. Alternatively, if only routing from the “Free Open GPS Autorouting” mapset there may be more pure topomap sets to load which I will investigate over time.

 

I have tested this process on both a Garmin Etrex 30 and a Garmin 705 GPS.

 

For best results:

• Build UltraMaps (Free Open GPS NZ Combined mapset) with Mapsource and send to your GPS. Make sure that the ~700Mb gmapsupp.img file is copied to the Garmin folder of your Micro-SD card.
• Copy the gmapsupp.img file from “Free Open GPS Autorouting” mapset into the Garmin directory for the internal memory of your GPS
• When on the road for latest maps and less screen clutter to help read street names disable the “Free Open GPS NZ Combined” mapset in Setup –> Maps
• When in the mountains or trails enable the “Free Open GPS NZ Combined” mapset in Setup –> Maps

First outing: Memory-Map Toughprint Paper

I went on my first tramping trip in a long-time last weekend. One of the things I tried out for the first time was Memory-Map’s Toughprint™ Waterproof paper.

 

Most of my maps, are now on a projection that is no longer used so I used the Memory Map software, and my inkjet printer to print the maps of where I was going, instead of trying to track down the correct map sheet in one of the tramping shops in town. I printed the 40km journey on two sides of the same sheet of Toughprint™ paper.

 

I was dubious, as to whether, regardless of the waterproof paper my run of the mill Brother Inkjet printer could really print waterproof maps. To my surprise, it worked out far better than I ever imagined. Even a deliberate dunking in the Mangatoetoe Stream at the end of the trip has failed to cause ink to run, or the paper to tear. I was quite impressed.

 

When printing your own maps, ensuring the hardcopy that comes out of your printer is at the correct is one of the challenges. The Memory-Map software addresses this, by changing the selection order in that you first select your paper-size and your margin-size before offering you the opportunity to select the area of map that fits those dimensions. When measuring with the ruler on the compass I could distinguish any scale inconsistencies in either the lounge, or out in the hills.

 

Not worried about map destruction, and a smaller size with less unfolding it was certainly far more convenient to keep a copy of the map in my pocket to constantly refer to throughout the weekend - especially in the less than perfect weather.

 

Following the trip, I have noted black ink has run through the paper, in that it now visible from the opposite side – particularly in the blue (sea) areas of the map. This is possibly related to the dunking in the stream.

 

I also think, one needs to be careful at not being too minimalist when printing their own maps. The coverage on two sides of A4, at 1:50,000 is not great, and if inclement weather, or an injury changed route plans it is possible that you may want to travel outside of your self-printed  map sheets. Including escape routes is vital.

 

Ultimately, I think in future I will use a mixture of official map sheets, and self-printed map sheets depending on the nature of the trip and the size requirements of the map sheets.

 

I am without doubt, that an A4 waterproof map in my pocket will be invaluable in critical navigation portions of future backcountry journeys.

Waitakere Ranges Regional Park: Pararaha Stream and surrounds

 

Although spending the first 20-odd years of my life in Auckland the Waitakere Range, to the west of the city is an area I have not explored.

 

Where in Auckland do you find a Topographical Map?

As a Wellington resident and tramper over the past decade, I have been startled by the number of lost persons requiring assistance from search and rescue in this area. At times it seemed like it was a rite of passage for being an Aucklander to get lost in the Waitakere Ranges!! On Boxing Day I visited four different outdoor equipment stores on Auckland’s North Shore in an effort to buy some topographical maps of this area. To my disgust most of these stores did not stock topographical maps at all, looked at me strangely when I used a big long word like “topographical” and referred me to the bookstore that could offer me no more than a a street directory for my car or a globe for my desk!! The one store that seemed to fully understand the word “topographical” mostly had maps of the sections of the Mt Aspiring and Fiordland National Parks that are well tracked, but in the lower half of the South Island.

 

Fortunately they were able to find a single copy of “NZTopo50-BB30ptBB31”. However, due to the peculiarities of the new NZTopo50 grid, even though this map includes some the adjacent BB31 map it still contains over 70% sea. This gave me coverage for about one third of the range, in the south-western corner of the Waitakere Ranges Regional Park.

Pararaha Stream and Surrounds

Trip Data:
Distance:	10.8 km	1,089 Calories
Time:	4:03	22min/km
Elevation:	Ascent: 1696m	Descent: 1685m
Ride Data:	Garmin Connect Player
Location:	Auckland, NZ	27 December 2009

Buck Taylor Track

My nephew, Jamie and I headed down the Buck Taylor Track from the Lone Kauri Rd

carpark. This track begins as a very broad, well cut walking track at the carpark before becoming narrower, muddier and steeper tramping track with the easily negotiated rocks, tree roots and slippery clay during the descent down into Pararaha Bay. Approac

hing the bay there is a junction offering the worthwhile 10 minute side-trip to the lagoon. At 2.4km or 46 minutes from the road-end we reached the black sand dunes between a sizable lagoon and the beach with crashing waves from the Tasman Sea. With numerous dragon-fly munching away on small insects we decided to have a quick munch on some snack bars too.

 

The track signposts along this coastal area all marked the soon to be opened Hillary Trail, which will offer the first documented multi-day tramping route in the Waitakare Ranges.

Pararaha Stream

From the beach, travelling past the side-trip junction and towards the Muir Track a crossing of the Pararaha Stream is reached about 10 minutes along the track. Shortly after this stream crossing we could hear Kereru in the bush on the true left-side of the Pararaha Stream.  1.1km/20 minutes along the Muir Track the Les Ward Shelter and Pararaha campsite (permit required) is reached. From the shelter you can drop down to the picturesque Pararaha Stream where initially you can follow a well worn, but not official track present on the true-left side of the stream before disappearing as we negotiated the stream past some wonderful swimming hills and pretty terraced waterfalls. Even better was both combined so I could not resist the chance for a quick swim on the warm day in pool under one of the terraced waterfalls.

 

 

About 500m/40 minutes from the Les Ward Shelter we reached large boulders and a larger waterfall. The valley was narrowing to become canyon-isque and after climbing the second set of boulders, which had a log jam over moving water leading the next series we decided it was best not to proceed directly up the stream.

Besides, I would have been in so much trouble with my sister if I got my nephew and I trapped in the middle of a canyon

Looking at the surrounding terrain, and considering the well trodden track further downstream I thought there may have a trail up a gully to our left, on the true right of the Pararaha Stream but on this occasion I failed to see where it left the stream. Now home, and with access to broadband, my blindness becomes completely evident from this page on tramper.co.nz:

At a deep pool 30 minutes from the campsite, a track climbs out on the true right. This track clambers steeply past a larger waterfall to a striking pair of kauri. Above the fall, the stream eases off, and a couple more deep pools are avoided by tracks on the true left. Watch for these: they are very easy to miss.

Muir Ridge Track Odlin Timber Tracks

After wandering through the beautiful Pararaha Stream, following the tracks back to the car were certainly nowhere near as memorable.

 

The Muir Track is exactly how all uphill tramping tracks should be. Short, sweet and straight up! A 260m climb from the shelter in 27min/1.1km. At the top you reach a track junction with Gibbons Track to the SE and Walker Ridge track to the NE both offering less steep travel.

Walker Ridge Track

The Walker Ridge track offers fast, generally flat travel for 50min/2.7km to pt378, “Orange Peel Corner” junction with the Huia Ridge (NE) and Odlin Timber  (NW) Tracks.

Odlin Timber Track

The Odlin Timber Track (45min/2.5km) is mostly downhill from “Orange Peel Corner” although it climbs up steps from the point at which the top of the Pararaha Stream. It reaches the road shortly before the carpark travelling marginally inside the bush parallel to it for the last 150m. The “Odlins 2” campsite it passes looks like a nice spot, although so near the road-end I am neither sure how much it is used or where “Odlins 1” is located.

 

That said, the Auckland Regional Council seem unsure of where “Odlins 2” is located, given their location description:

Odlins 2 Campground
Small tent sites, tramping access from Lone Kauri Rd.
   Camping site
   Bookable: Yes
   Directions: Park at car park on Lone Kauri Road. Walk 2.8 km up Odlins Timper Track.
   Grade: Back Country Site
   Camping mode: Small tent sites

Ummm, correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that this is beyond the Odlins Timber track? It is only 2.5km long :). I’m pretty sure that the campsite is 1.7km from the road-end near where the track crosses the Cowan Stream? Perhaps the council could not find a topographical map either :D.

 

 

NZ Open GPS Routing Maps with your Garmin Edge 705 – as easy as cut and paste!

The Garmin Edge 705 is a great device. Although I ordered mine through a New Zealand Garmin dealer, it only came with Pacific Highway base map set. The screen wasn’t nearly as riveting as I knew it could be! A quick look for the an upgrade micro-SD card, with pre-loaded Garmin City Navigator maps, but at NZ$195 I quickly lost interest. I am already the proud owner of over 200 printed, 260 series New Zealand topographical maps so I didn't want to purchase the same information all over again! As we all so often do in this, the Information Age, I turned to my good friend Mr Google.

In New Zealand we are truly blessed to have the New Zealand Open GPS Maps Project. This project produces an electronic map set including routing information for navigating New Zealand roads. This is also updated very frequently, so changes due to new roading projects appear very quickly. So, don’t be shy about downloading updates to the “gmapsupp.img” file at regular intervals in the future.

To add all the streets in New Zealand and support Navman style, turn-by-turn directions and navigation features:

1. Purchase a micro-SD card. Note, this is a micro-SD. Do not purchase a micro-SDHC card. While these are the exact same dimensions and will fit snuggly in your Garmin device, it will not be able to read from it. Here is one I purchased from Dick Smith Electronics at lunch time.
   [Note: Subsequent to this original post, firmware verion 2.90 was released with support for SDHC cards]
   
2. Insert the Micro-SD Card. It lives in the slot at the bottom, underside of your Garmin Edge 705. [Please excuse camera phone blur and lighting effects – there is nothing folding over in the right-hand side]
3. Connect to your Garmin Edge 705 to your PC, via the USB data cable.
4. Two new driver letters will appear in My Computer, in the example below the internal Garmin memory is set as drive I:, and the micro-SD card is set as drive letter J:.
5. Create a new folder on your micro-SD card, name it “Garmin”
6. In your favoured web-browser visit http://www.nzopengps.org/public/Direct%20gmapsupp/. This is a data file for Garmin GPS’s pre-built by the New Zealand Open GPS Maps Project. Download the compressed .zip file containing it. In this case “20090619 gmapsupp.zip”
7. Open your downloaded file, and copy and paste the data file to the Garmin folder that was created in step 5.
8. You now have the 35Mb “gmapsupp.img” file on your Garmin Edge 705 (yay). This is Garmin speak, for supplementary map. Your Garmin Edge 705 will automatically look for the file when starting up.
9. Now disconnect your Garmin Edge 705 from your computer. It is best to use the windows safely remove hardware icon to ensure all data has been written to your device first. 
10. So now, instead of only seeing motorways and cities like this:You can see all the suburbs….The streets… And find useful things, like an ATM… A wonderful new world of navigation possibilities is all yours…

See Also: Get more detail with the NZ Open GPS Project