‘Man and His Penguin’ Is the Best Thing I’ve Ever Seen on Google Street View

‘Man and His Penguin’ Is the Best Thing I’ve Ever Seen on Google Street View

Google Street View is now 15 years old! To celebrate its birthday, Google has collected some great shots from Australian Street View.

You might know the app as a tool for checking out a place you’ve spotted on Google Maps or Google Earth. When you use it, you get a 360 degree view of the spot, letting you look around (read: politely stalk a place you’re headed to). It’s a totally weird and wonderful app to use, if you can find a truly WTF Street View location.

So, in celebrating the app, here’s some of the most… What is that?

google street view australia (1)
Image: Google

In the press kit Google sent over, they call this joyous pic “Man and his penguin”, but I am so enamoured. This isn’t just a man and his penguin; it’s a man and his penguin and his giant old-timey bike. Hell yeah buddy, dudes rock.

What other bits of joy has Google put together… Oh, migrating crabs on Christmas Island.

google street view australia
Image: Google

A funky little Quokka! Heck yeah, brother.

google street view australia
Image: Google

And a few others, including a beautiful picture of Uluru, the Great Barrier Reef, the Australian War Memorial and the Sydney Opera House. These shots are truly beautiful, and it’s terrific that these images are available online for people to click into and have a poke about in through Google’s free app.

google street view australia
Images: Google

It turns out that Google has also been keeping tabs on the most popular Street View spots in Australia, AKA the spots Aussies have virtually visited the most with the app, according to data.

The most clicked place of interest

Reservoir Skatepark in Melbourne, Victoria, is the most clicked place of interest on Street View, according to Google. The location is a pretty funky skatepark that you can walk around in (Street View style) although it looks most spectacular from above. You can (virtually) walk about Reservoir Skatepark here.

google street view australia
Reservoir Skatepark. Image: Phillips Donaldson, Google

The most clicked public beach

Wattamolla Beach in New South Wales is the most visited (via Street View) beach in Australia, according to Google. To be fair, it’s a gorgeous beach in an absolutely beautiful part of the world. We’re big fans of this one. Take a waddle around Wattamolla Beach here.

google street view australia
Image: Google

The most clicked museum

Google says that the most clicked museum in Australia via Street View is the Natural History Museum in Queensland, showcasing the Australian Age of Dinosaurs exhibit. Hell yeah, there are dinosaur lovers out there still. We love dinosaurs here at Gizmodo Australia and are so glad that this is one of the most clicked things on Street View. Check out some funky dinos here.

google street view australia
Image: Google

That’s about where it ends for Google Street View’s anniversary, although the company has announced a partnership with Transport NSW and Transdev for Street View photos on Sydney ferries.

“We are pleased to partner with Google to bring virtual tours of Sydney’s iconic ferries and stunning harbour views to Google Maps for the world to explore and enjoy,” said Loretta Lynch, the managing director of Transdev Sydney Ferries.

Happy birthday Street View. If you want to gamify your Street View usage, may I suggest having a play with Geoguessr, a browser game that has you guessing where the Street View camera is in the world, based on what you can see.

Also, have a look at Google Street View Finds, a subreddit dedicated to fascinating Street View spots.


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