Grebe's Nest VR

Virtual Reality has come to Bell Island Newfoundland. One of my favorite places to photograph in Newfoundland is Bell Island and I just love "Hidden Beach" and the Grebe's Nest area.

If you've never been to these areas virtual reality is the next best thing to being there. Or in some cases it may be better. After posting this tour on social media a little while ago one guy replied, to my post on Twitter, that he had been there and a rock had fallen from the cliff and hit him.

You can get virtual reality headsets like Google Cardboard for as little as $5. You simply insert your phone and your ready to go. Other sets which also use your phone can be purchased for as little as $25. You can also get fully self contained VR headsets from companies such as Oculus and Samsung.

Figure 1: Hidden Beach/Grebe's Nest Virtual Tour

To View Hidden Beach/Grebe's Nest in VR, take your phone and follow these instructions.

1. On your phone browse to our Newfoundland Virtual website or "click here" to go on the Bell Island tour. 
2. Select the VR glasses thumbnail, see figure 2 in the bottom left of the screen to enter split screen VR mode as shown below in figure 3.





 Figure 2: VR glasses thumbnail

3. Insert your phone into your headset and enjoy the experience.

Figure 3: Split screen VR mode enabled

Navigation

At Newfoundland Virtual we use what is galled "gaze navigation"to get from one area to another. You place the + symbol (which is in the center of your display) over the "hotspot" for about 3 seconds to activate it. On this tour hotspots are displayed as pulsing red circles.

One of the fun things about this virtual tour is that you can go through the tunnel connecting Hidden Beach to Grebe's Nest (and you won't get wet or messy)!

Hope you enjoyed the tour!