MadMappers

Kwazulu-Natal now available for FREE download!

More of the 1:50.000 South African map series is available for download.

The second province to be released is Mpumalanga with 167 maps for a total of 650Mb.
Courtesy of Surveys and Mapping of South Africa, the electronic maps are in geographic (Lat/lon) projection and collar cropped for mosaicking. They are geo-calibrated for use in OziExplorer. In addition a world file is also present.

This province is the second of the 9 South African provinces to be released, for a total of over 2000 maps.  Watch this space for news on the release of other provinces.

And if your web connection is not so fast, do not despair: the complete MadMappers South African collection scale 1:50.000 on DVD set is only R 450 plus postage. Check the mapsets on CD section for more details.

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Mpumalanga now available for FREE download!

The 1:50.000 South African map series is finally available for download.

The first province to be released is Mpumalanga with 152 maps for a total of 560Mb.
Courtesy of Surveys and Mapping of South Africa, the electronic maps are in geographic (Lat/lon) projection and collar cropped for mosaicking. They are geo-calibrated for use in OziExplorer. In addition a world file is also present.

This province is the first of the 9 South African provinces to be released, for a total of over 2000 maps.  Watch this space for news on the release of other provinces.

And if your web connection is not so fast, do not despair: the complete MadMappers South African collection scale 1:50.000 on DVD set is only R 450 plus postage. Check the mapsets on CD section for more details.

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MadMappers makes history for the African Continent!

In an unprecedented move, MadMappers has become the first web provider of free African topographic maps.
The question which comes to our mind is: who else is providing free maps in the world? We do not know of many: USGS in the USA, then … well, not many more, and for sure no-one without a multimillion dollar budget. We feel in good company, why spoil the moment with budget matters!

It all started on Tuesday 3rd September 2002 when a group of friends attended in Johannesburg a symposium at the World Summit titled “Global Mapping - SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION”.
Between many notable speakers, Derek Clarke, Chief Director of Surveys and Mapping of South Africa stood out. He highlighted the importance of easy access to mapping information, more so in less developed countries than in developed ones.
Then he spoke about the common perception that development creates the resources needed for compiling good maps while the opposite is in fact true: good, easily accessible maps are the foundations of development. On the African continent, politicians constantly search for ways to stimulate development but too often overlook the need for maps. NEPAD is the perfect example: maps are mentioned no-where in the economic programme: what kind of renaissance are we supposed to achieve?

With a few exceptions most African maps were compiled in the colonial years. “Why need new maps when there are old ones?”, Simply because the world changes and so do maps. And the few old available maps are too often regarded by government departments as confidential information, not only almost inaccessible to the general public but also not shared between government departments. Similarly the private sector is unwilling to share information, with a sort of satisfaction at the prospect that others, including their own Governments, will be unable to make informed decision.

It was quite astonishing to hear these words: a few days earlier we had received a quote of about R20.000 (almost $3.400) for the set of South African maps scale 1:250.000 in electronic format (which are the same set we are now offering for free download).

A few months after the World Summit, the South African Government took the decision that maps had to become freely accessible to everyone.

But how could this be achieved in practice? Simple: MadMappers!
Actually not that simple, as we found out later. But where there is the will, there is a way and finally an idea has become reality.

All this would have not been possible without the support  of the Chief Directorate - Surveys and Mapping (CDSM) of the Republic of South Africa. Thank them before thanking us.
And then thank Louis Cretier (Turin, Italy; mail: clovis@libero.it), who made it technically possible, and Mike Childs (www.globalmapper.com) who, not only is the developer of a brilliant piece of GIS software, but who has also put at our disposal his web servers.

This is the first real step of MadMappers. In the next few days MadMappes will be releasing more than 2000 maps of South Africa scale 1:50.000 in electronic format province by province. So watch this space for news on the release.

And if your web connection is not so fast, do not despair: MadMappers South African collection scale 1:250.000 on CD is only R 100 ($17) plus postage. Check the mapsets on CD section for more details.

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Behind any map archive, no matter how small it is, there should be a set of index maps: overview country maps and national map-list indices. By the use of index maps the required correct map will be identified and located in a matter of seconds.
If you are an OziExplorer user you are lucky, the index map system is fantastic.
In the Raster Maps - Africa Index Map section you will find overview maps for every African country in ozf2 format. Store them in the Index Maps folder of your OziExplorer program directory and you will never loose a map again.
If you are not an OziExplorer user do not despair: tell us which program you use and which image format you prefer and it will be added. In the meantime you’ll be able to use the index maps in the free Trial version of Oziexplorer.

We have included 2 national maplist maps: Namibia and South Africa. With them it is possible to identify the name of any 50k map in these countries. If you have maplists of other countries please send them to us and they will be included in the National Maplist section.

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Is it possible to compile 30Gbs of digital maps into a simple, easy to use set?
2 DVDs is the result we are proud of. By virtue of this achievement MadMappers is now able to offer the SA 50k mapset at a cost lower than anyone had hoped for and ready to use with OziExplorer and Global Mapper: all it is required is to place the DVD into the DVD drive and load the maps. As simple as that.
Price for the 2 DVDs set containing over 2000 maps is R550 (US$90). DVDs are also available separately. Check the mapsets on CD section for more details.

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