A virtual tour to one of the world’s most visited natural sites, the Victoria Falls, is now possible courtesy of local wine and gin brand, Mosi Wines and Gin.
With the travel and leisure lockdown restrictions still in place as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, there has been a surge in free virtual experiences, giving people a chance to explore museums, famous national parks and even some of the natural wonders of the world.
In the US, the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC is offering virtual tours, allowing visitors to take self-guided, room-by-room tours of select exhibits and areas within the museum in the comfort of their own homes.
On the other hand, artists have taken to social media platforms, such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, to host live concerts for their fans as the lockdown rolls on.
Last month, two local game reserves introduced daily virtual safaris, to give safari enthusiasts a chance to “escape to the bush” via their social media channels – Instagram and Facebook.
Mosi Wine and Gin, together with Vollherbst Labels’ augmented reality (AR) label app – LABELinmotion – have made it possible to virtually tour the Vic Falls.
The Mosi brand, developed by local sommelier and winemaker, Joseph Dhafana, is an abbreviation to Mosi-oa-Tunya, a Kololo name for the Vic Falls, which translates to the smoke that thunders.
To view the AR experience of the world heritage site, one can click a social media link or place a printed image of a Mosi label around a bottle, which will turn into colourful waterfall animations with the use of the LABELinmotion app.
Dhafana says: “Life is so unpredictable. Who would’ve thought when I started working with LABELinmotion for the augmented reality labels for Mosi that the world would be in lockdown months down the line?
“No travelling. Currently both my homeland, Zimbabwe, and my adopted land, South Africa, are experiencing lockdown – and no travel is allowed. It is sad as I believe that Mosi-oa-Tunya (the Victoria Falls) is the most magnificent it has been in years. While we can’t see this incredible natural wonder at the moment, we can travel there with clever technology.”
Across the world, over 3.5 million people are said to be infected with COVID-19, more than 1.1 million have recovered, with more than 240 000 having lost their lives to the disease.
South Africa has 6 783 confirmed cases, 2 549 recoveries and 131 deaths, so far.
The LABELinmotion app, which enables the Mosi wines’ AR feature, can be downloaded from iStore or Google Play Store, states Dhafana.
Matthias Vollherbst, managing owner of Vollherbst Labels and LABELinmotion, says he was inspired by Dhafana and his captivating wine and gin labels, and he was eager to add a storytelling element to Mosi.
“I was immediately struck by the authentic correlation between Joseph’s life story and his wine labels. The strong link, and the fact that the labels are beautifully designed line drawings of one of Africa’s most famous landmarks, introduced such an opportunity to add an augmented reality layer to an already uplifting brand.”
According to Vollherbst, his company worked closely with Dhafana to ensure the AR experience as a whole reflected the winemaker’s personality. “Users will therefore hear Joseph’s voice when activating the AR experience as he guides them through an introduction of the Mosi brand, which has been animated into a thunderous Victoria Waterfall experience, complete with birdsong one can expect to hear when viewing this iconic wonder.
“In a time when we are all isolated, technology has provided us with the opportunity to stay engaged. It is wonderful that we can also evoke the energy of travelling to remote destinations like the Victoria Falls during this unprecedented time,” he adds.
“I hope when the travel ban is lifted, people would’ve been inspired by Mosi’s AR-enabled wine labels to travel to my home country,” concludes Dhafana.
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