Maps have always held endless fascination for me. If, in the course of reading an article, I come across a map, I stop reading the text, and concentrate on interpreting the map. Whether it is a map of military manoeuvres in a war zone (say Ukraine or Syria}, a physical or political map of a continent, a road map to assist with navigation, or whatever, I cannot help myself.
What one gets to see in a map is, of course, is a bird’s eye view of a selected portion of the earth’s surface. Herein, perhaps, lies the attraction. One gets to fly like a bird over the terrain below. Apropos of birds, maps, and flying, there are maps of the migration patterns of avian populations, and such maps are sources of endless fascination for me.
What about maps drawn by the first nations’ people of Australia? Two of these, which can be found hanging in my house, are shown in the photo above. They are beautiful, but incomprehensible without guidance from first nations’ people themselves. They invariably have names like My Mother’s Country or similar.
Contour maps, enabling one to venture into the third dimension, are endlessly fascinating. Used in conjunction with a compass, they provide the means by which to negotiate (should one have a mind to do so) a bush track, or even bush sans track, without getting hopelessly lost. Only when there is reliable mobile phone coverage can modern GPS be regarded as a substitute or supplement to these tried and true techniques.
Navigation on a road trip using a road map would, on the surface, seem a much simpler task, but there are, nevertheless, some people who cannot manage it well. I presume such people, unlike me, don’t see any magic in maps. Whatever her other assets might have been, and there were many, my late partner, Janet, was one such person so, whenever navigation was crucial, I arranged to have her drive. I was then free to sit beside her and navigate.
So, why not use Google Maps or the equivalent to plot a route map? Is there really any need for a human navigator?
Once again, this presumes that good mobile coverage is available. And there is something most satisfying about following a paper map rather than a robotic algorithmic line on a screen. Human judgment comes into play as opposed to a slavish adherence to and reliance on the directions that come from an impersonal and less verifiable source.
Instead of tracking progress in real time via some arbitrary geometric shape moving across the screen, one can do so via landmarks such as creek crossings, bends in the road, watering holes, and the like, as they appear on a paper map. What’s more, one can see at a glance at the map what all the fascinating by-ways and diversions are that might be worth exploring. The overview a paper map gives is priceless. Romance is re-established. One gets a real sense of one’s relationship with the surrounding landscape.
Here is the bird’s eye view that people like me crave. Fly baby, fly.