Get ready to explore Ipswich from the comfort of your own home as next month 57 locations never before seen on Google Street View will be available, showcasing some of the most amazing places in the Ipswich region.

The captures are thanks to Josh 'The Bear' Kerr, who was selected from over 200 applicants as the 'Human' to carry the Street View Trekker (that weighs around 18 kilograms) - walking 3 million steps over 90 days.

Mr Kerr was a Spicers activities guide before he was chosen in Ipswich City Council's Human Wanted campaign, which launched in March 2018.

Thanks to the interest around the campaign Nature Conservation has seen a 50% spike in trail use, with White Rock recording 50,000 hikers in 2018 compared to 10,000 in 2017.

Ipswich City Council CEO David Farmer said it was exciting to see the positive response the Google Street View project has had in the community.

“The extensive mapping will help showcase the amazing place that Ipswich is to the rest of Australia and the world,” said Mr Farmer.

With the help of the Google Street View Trekker, Bear was able to capture 360 degree views of Ipswich's most beautiful scenery every two and a half seconds with 15 camera lenses.

He hiked up Flinders Peak, the tallest in the South East Queensland region, taller than the Glasshouse Mountains to bring some stunning views to Google Maps.

Cross-collaboration between Ipswich City Council teams and industry to get the job done, was key to the success of the project.

Some of the locations Bear trekked included, 88 Limestone St. Purga Nature Reserve, Ipswich Nature Centre, Ivory's Rock, White Rock and Robelle Domain, to name a few.

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See the live locations online now at https://www.google.com/streetview/gallery/#city-of-ipswich/mount-blaine

About Ipswich

• Ipswich boasts 6500 hectares of reserves and conservation estates, 196km of biking trails and more than 7000 heritage-listed sites in the city.
• Figures last financial year showed an impressive 1.6m visitors came to the Ipswich Region, up 27%.
• The region is home to a number of operators, from Pterodactyl Helicopters - the number one attraction as rated by Best of Queensland - to The Workshops Railway Museum, 88 Limestone St, Spicers Hiddenvale.
• The region's many other tourist attractions include the oldest park in Queensland, Queens Park; steam rail services with Queensland Pioneer Steam Railway; the Ipswich Nature Centre with its resident wombat, bilbies, rock wallabies and spotted quolls and gold coin admission; and The Workshops Rail Museum located at the birthplace of rail in Queensland.

For more details contact Marketing and Publicity Officer, Carly Morrissey at carly.morrissey@ipswich.qld.gov.au or 0488 762 409 or visit www.discoveripswich.com.au

Google Street View (sample):

Hiddenvale Adventure Park (130kms of trails the largest MTB trail in Queensland)

Flinders Peak (tallest peak in the SEQ region)

Woodlands of Marburg (heritage property)

Orion lagoon (gets over 500,000 visitors a year)

Spicers Hiddenvale

Images and videos can be found here: 

Photos/Drone footage can be found here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ux4sqs1bQVmVhj4sK3jFJXPvYGZynA24