There is considerable opportunity to build participation in the Public Conservation Lands through the development of enticing and imaginative experiences. An in-depth observational scoping study of Arthur’s Pass National Park observed wayfinding as a core opportunity for development. As a result this research looks to adapt basic wayfinding into more experientially rich solutions.
Two experience-orientated models are employed to assist the development process. Models developed by Nathan Shedroff - an experience design professional (2009) - and Tim Ingold - an anthropologist concerned with people and landscape (2000). These were applied to aid the development of diverse narratives of walking. As prompted through four wayfinding solutions: ‘Choreographed by Nature Wayfinding’ which prioritises kinaesthetic narrative, ‘Scavenger Hunt Wayfinding’ which utilises game-based involvement methodology, ‘Statistic-based Wayfinding’ which has a strong informational core, and ‘Storytelling Wayfinding’ which enlists an unfolding story as a means to assist wayfinding.
The application of these two different frameworks has elicited the following outcomes; Shedroff’s framework has increased the experiential depth of these wayfinding solutions, while Ingold’s framework has enabled the enlisting of landscape as a core-contributing component in wayfinding. This multidisciplinary approach has increased the scope of imaginative possibilities for wayfinding and shifted the focus from a mechanics of wayfinding artefacts towards the potential spread of experiences wayfinding might generate. The advantage of this approach for New Zealand’s Public Conservation Lands is it enables a prioritisation and sympathetic consideration towards the implementation of human intervention in a predominately non-human space.
