VividSouth
What VividSouth is
VividSouth is an independent, exploratory map-based guide to Te Waipounamu / New Zealand’s South Island. It combines official geographic, conservation, recreation, infrastructure, and demographic datasets into one interactive map experience.
It is designed to bring dispersed official datasets into a single, readable place-based interface.
VividSouth is built from a personal passion for New Zealand’s South Island: its landscapes, settlements, conservation lands, routes, waterways, and stories. The long-term goal is to create a rich, respectful, visually beautiful guide that connects places, data, stories, and outdoor activities across Te Waipounamu.
Intended use
The app is intended for exploration, planning, discovery, and place-based understanding. It helps users explore regions, territorial authorities, population centres, localities, lakes, rivers, tracks, huts, campsites, roads, protected areas, hunting areas, and other geographic features.
Important limitations
VividSouth is not an official government or regulatory service. The app should not be used as the sole source for safety, access, legal permissions or regulatory compliance, weather, track conditions, camping rules, hunting permits and conditions, fishing rules, or emergency decisions.
Map layers may show official source data, but they do not replace official legal, safety, access, booking, permit, or conditions information.
Official-source check reminder
Conditions, access rules, alerts, restrictions, bookings, permits, closures, weather, hazards, track conditions, camping rules, hunting permits and conditions, fishing rules, and other regulatory or operational details can change.
Users should check the relevant official source before travelling, camping, hunting, fishing, entering protected or restricted areas, relying on access information, or making safety-related decisions.
VividSouth must not be used as the sole source for emergency decisions, legal permissions or regulatory compliance, navigation, outdoor safety, or access permissions.
Data Sources Register
Some datasets are filtered, grouped, simplified, clipped to the South Island, or matched to VividSouth’s internal place hierarchy before display.
| App layer / feature | Source organisation | Dataset / service | Version / date | Downloaded / app update | App use / processing | Notes / limitations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Administrative Areas — Regions | Stats NZ | Regional Council 2025 | Boundaries as at 1 January 2025 | Downloaded April 2026 | South Island regional polygons used as VividSouth app regions. | |
| Administrative Areas — Territorial Authorities | Stats NZ | Territorial Authorities 2025 | Boundaries as at 1 January 2025 | Downloaded April 2026 | South Island territorial authority polygons used in the app hierarchy under Regions. | |
| Population Centres — Major, Large, Medium, Small, Villages | Stats NZ | Urban Rural 2026 | Boundaries as at 1 January 2026 | Downloaded April 2026 | Used for population-centre polygons and names. Stats NZ classes were simplified for app display: Major urban area → Major; Large urban area → Large; Medium urban area → Medium; Small urban area → Small. Rural settlements were renamed to Villages. | Other rural, Inland water, Inlet, and other non-populated/non-settlement classes are excluded from this app layer/table. |
| Population Centres — Localities | LINZ / New Zealand Geographic Board Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa | LINZ Place Names / Place Names Gazetteer + NZ Geographic Topo Names 1:50k | LINZ/NZGB and LINZ Topo50 source datasets, current as downloaded April 2026. | Downloaded April 2026 | Used to identify populated places not already included in the Stats NZ Urban Rural 2026 population-centre list. Places were grouped as Localities when they represented populated places outside existing population-centre classes, including source types such as Locality, Village, Town, and other relevant classifications. | Combines LINZ/NZGB official and unofficial place names with LINZ Topo50 geographic names. Inclusion in VividSouth is curated to represent populated places and avoid duplicating Stats NZ population centres. |
| Demographic information per Population Centre | Stats NZ | 2023 Census totals by topic for individuals by SA2 + Statistical Area 2 higher geographies 2026 | 2023 Census; SA2 geography 2026 | Downloaded March 2026 | SA2 data was mapped to VividSouth population centres using SA2 geography and app-specific population-centre mapping. Values are shown mainly as percentages rather than total counts. | Demographic values are based on SA2-level Census data and should be interpreted as indicative where SA2 boundaries do not perfectly match population-centre boundaries. |
| Tracks — Parent Tracks | Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai | DOC Walking Experiences / DOC Recreation Track Lines | Last updated by DOC January 2026 | Extracted via API and downloaded April 2026 | Used for DOC tracks/experiences that have dedicated DOC web pages. Referred to in VividSouth as Parent Tracks. VividSouth uses relevant parent-track activity/type values from the source file, including Walking and Tramping, Horse Riding, Cycling / Mountain Biking, Four Wheel Driving, and Other Tracks. | Parent-track and section-track datasets are separate DOC sources. Relationships between them were derived by VividSouth using spatial overlap of centrelines. Track information should be checked against DOC for current alerts, closures, availability, booking requirements, and conditions. |
| Tracks — Track Sections | Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai | DOC EAM tracks / DOC recreation track lines — all tracks | Source last modified August 2025 | Downloaded April 2026 | Extracted from DOC EAM system and used as the detailed DOC track-section layer. Referred to as Track Sections. VividSouth uses section-track type values from the source file, including Tramping Track, Walking Track, Route, Cycle Track, Short Walk, Great Walk, Short Walk (disabled), Easy Tramping Track, and Pavement. | Parent-track and section-track datasets are separate DOC sources. Relationships between them were derived by VividSouth using spatial overlap of centrelines. Track information should be checked against DOC for current alerts, closures, availability, booking requirements, and conditions. |
| CYCLING / MOUNTAIN BIKING - ROUTE REFERENCE | Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency / Ngā Haerenga New Zealand Cycle Trail | New Zealand Cycling Map | Current map as accessed 2026 | Accessed 2026; app updated September 2026 | Used as a reference network to identify named cycling routes and their broad route relationships across the South Island. VividSouth production route geometry was sourced independently from LINZ, DOC or OpenStreetMap. | Users should refer to the original map and route operators for current route information, access and conditions. |
| CYCLING / MOUNTAIN BIKING - LINZ ROUTE GEOMETRY | Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand | LINZ road and track centreline datasets | Source datasets current as downloaded 2026 | Downloaded / processed 2026; app updated September 2026 | Relevant LINZ road and track linework was selected, combined and, where required, clipped to construct comparable route geometry for Cycling parent tracks. | Geometry represents VividSouth’s route reconstruction from LINZ source data and may not match published cycling-route alignment. Contains data sourced from the LINZ Data Service and licensed for reuse under CC BY 4.0. Individual parent pages identify LINZ where it is the applicable map source. |
| CYCLING / MOUNTAIN BIKING - DOC ROUTE GEOMETRY | Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai | DOC recreation track / track-section spatial data | Source data current as downloaded 2026 | Downloaded / processed 2026; app updated September 2026 | DOC track linework was used where Cycling routes follow or correspond to DOC-managed tracks. | Route representation may differ from current on-ground conditions or official route descriptions. Users should check DOC for current access, closures and conditions. |
| CYCLING / MOUNTAIN BIKING - OPENSTREETMAP ROUTE GEOMETRY | OpenStreetMap contributors | OpenStreetMap route and line geometry | OpenStreetMap data as accessed 2026 | Accessed / processed 2026; app updated September 2026 | OpenStreetMap-derived geometry was used for Cycling parent routes where an appropriate mapped route was available. OSM-derived parents are kept identifiable as OSM-sourced geometry within VividSouth. | © OpenStreetMap contributors. OpenStreetMap data is available under the Open Database License. Individual parent pages identify OpenStreetMap where it is the applicable map source. |
| CYCLING / MOUNTAIN BIKING - ROUTE DESCRIPTIONS AND INFORMATION | Ngā Haerenga New Zealand Cycle Trail and other route-specific sources | Official trail, council, DOC and route-operator webpages | Source information as accessed 2026 | Accessed / reviewed 2026; app updated September 2026 | Used to prepare VividSouth’s original route summaries and factual route information, including descriptions, grades, approximate lengths, durations, access information and other route-specific details where available. | Sources vary by route. New Zealand Cycle Trail is the principal source for many routes; others include DOC, councils, trail trusts and route operators. The relevant source is identified on each parent track page. Users should check the linked source for current conditions, access, closures and track status. |
| Inter-city Road Network | LINZ | NZ Road Centrelines (Topo, 1:50k) | LINZ Topo50 source dataset | Downloaded April 2026 | VividSouth extracted State Highways and additional roads that are not State Highways, excluding roads that fall inside the polygons of existing app population centres. | |
| National Parks | LINZ / Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai | LINZ Protected Areas — National Parks | LINZ source dataset | Downloaded April 2026 | Used for National Park pins and polygons shown in the app. | Boundaries are indicative and may include replacement geometries maintained by VividSouth where required for map display. |
| Camping — Huts | Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai | DOC Huts / DOC_Huts | Source data last updated 8 December 2025 | Downloaded May 2026 | Used for hut point locations and hut information. | Hut information should be checked against DOC for current alerts, availability, booking requirements, and conditions. |
| Camping — DOC Managed Campsites | Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai | DOC Campsites / DOC_Campsites | Source data last updated 8 December 2025 | Downloaded May 2026 | Used for DOC-managed campsite point locations and campsite information. | Campsite information should be checked against DOC for current alerts, booking requirements, access, seasonal closures, and conditions. |
| Camping — Freedom Camping Restricted Areas | Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai | DOC Freedom Camping Sites / DOCFreedomCamping | Source data last updated 24 March 2026 | Downloaded May 2026 | Used to show DOC freedom-camping restriction/prohibition areas. | Rules and enforcement conditions can change. Check DOC and local council rules before camping. |
| Hunting — Open Hunting Areas | Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai | DOC Recreational Hunting Permit Areas | Source data last updated May 2026 | Downloaded May 2026 | Shown in the app as Open hunting areas (permit required). | Shows open/permitted DOC recreational hunting areas only. It does not show all hunting restrictions or prohibited/restricted hunting areas. Hunting requires a DOC hunting permit and may be subject to access, seasonal, dog, ballot, species, firearm, safety, or special-area conditions. Users must check DOC’s current hunting information and permit conditions before hunting. |
| Basemap / terrain / map rendering | Mapbox | Mapbox basemap, terrain, satellite imagery, and Mapbox GL JS rendering | Mapbox service | Current service | Used for the base map, terrain/satellite visual display, and interactive map rendering. | Mapbox content and services are separate from VividSouth’s official-source data layers. |
| Te Araroa Trail | Te Araroa Trust, in partnership with Herenga ā Nuku Aotearoa / Outdoor Access Commission | Te Araroa Trail GPX section routes — South Island sections | GPX section data available from Te Araroa website as downloaded June 2026 | Downloaded June 2026 | Used to show Te Araroa Trail section centrelines in the app. South Island GPX section routes were processed for display as the dedicated Te Araroa Trail layer and related section information. | Trail information should be checked against Te Araroa and DOC sources for current alerts, closures, route changes, access requirements, weather-related conditions, and safety notices before travel. |
Copyright, Licensing, and Legal Information
Copyright in VividSouth
Unless otherwise stated, the VividSouth app, including its original design, interface, layout, text, data processing, data organisation, derived classifications, icons, visual presentation, and original code, is copyright © VividSouth. All rights reserved.
No part of VividSouth may be copied, reproduced, redistributed, republished, modified, reverse-engineered, scraped, or used to create a competing product without prior written permission, except where permitted by law or by the licences of the original source datasets.
Third-party and government data
VividSouth uses and transforms data from official and third-party sources, including Stats NZ, LINZ, Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai, and Mapbox. Copyright and licensing in those source datasets remain with their respective owners and licensors.
Where government datasets are used, they may be protected by Crown copyright and released under open licences such as Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International, unless otherwise specified by the source agency. VividSouth acknowledges these sources in the Data Sources Register and does not claim ownership over the underlying official datasets.
VividSouth’s use of official data does not imply endorsement, sponsorship, approval, or partnership by Stats NZ, LINZ, Department of Conservation, Mapbox, or any other source organisation.
Data transformation and derived content
Some datasets used in VividSouth have been filtered, clipped, simplified, grouped, deduplicated, matched, classified, or otherwise processed for app display. These app-specific transformations, classifications, mappings, summaries, and presentation choices are part of VividSouth’s original work.
Users should not treat app-derived groupings, classifications, or interpretations as official classifications unless explicitly stated.
Accuracy and no warranty
VividSouth is provided for exploration, planning, discovery, and general information only. While care is taken to use official sources and maintain accurate data, VividSouth is provided “as is” and “as available”, without warranties of any kind, express or implied.
VividSouth does not guarantee that the map, data, boundaries, locations, classifications, routes, facilities, access information, restrictions, conditions, or other content are complete, current, accurate, or suitable for any particular purpose.
Safety, access, and regulatory responsibility
Conditions, access rules, alerts, restrictions, bookings, permits, closures, weather, hazards, track conditions, camping rules, hunting permits and conditions, fishing rules, and other regulatory or operational details can change.
Users must check the relevant official source before travelling, camping, hunting, fishing, entering protected or restricted areas, relying on access information, or making safety-related decisions.
VividSouth must not be used as the sole source for emergency decisions, legal permissions or regulatory compliance, navigation, outdoor safety, or access permissions.
Limitation of liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law, VividSouth is not responsible for any loss, injury, damage, cost, claim, or consequence arising from use of, reliance on, or inability to use the app or its content.
Users are responsible for their own decisions, safety, preparation, permissions, and compliance with applicable laws, regulations, bylaws, permits, and official conditions.
Map and imagery services
VividSouth uses Mapbox services for basemap, terrain, satellite imagery, and interactive map rendering. Mapbox content and services are subject to Mapbox’s own terms, licences, attribution requirements, and availability.
Attribution
VividSouth acknowledges the contribution of official data providers and third-party services listed in the Data Sources Register. Where source data is licensed for reuse, VividSouth’s use is intended to comply with the applicable licence terms, including attribution requirements.
Contact
For questions about data sources, attribution, corrections, bug reports, general inquiries, or permissions, please use the VividSouth contact form.
Contact VividSouth
Before sending
Use this form to report a bug, suggest a data correction, make an inquiry, or send other feedback. Please include your email address if you would like a reply.
Please do not submit sensitive personal information. For safety, access, weather, track, camping, hunting, fishing, or regulatory decisions, check the relevant official source directly.