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| Fleeting
Darkness in the Land Down Under |
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By Dennis di Cicco, Senior Editor, Sky & Telescope
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Ask eclipse chasers to
fantasize about the "perfect" solar eclipse, and you'll hear stories
of 7-minute-long totalities with the Sun overhead in crystalline
skies. So with last December's eclipse lasting barely 2 minutes, it
wasn't a likely candidate for anyone's top 10 list. But eclipse
travel is more than just seeing eclipses; it's also a chance to
explore exotic lands. And in that regard December's event more than
made up for a shorter-than-average totality.
With the narrow eclipse
track beginning in the South Atlantic, crossing southern Africa, and
sweeping over the Indian Ocean before ending shortly after making
landfall in Australia, December's eclipse offered several exciting
observing venues. TravelQuest International and Sky & Telescope took
advantage of this and organized three |
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Photo by Alex McConahay |
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tours, including one headed to game reserves in South Africa,
another offering extended sightseeing in Africa and eclipse viewing
from aboard the Marco Polo, and one to Australia. |
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As participants began
signing up for the tours, the disproportionate numbers selecting
Australia intrigued me. Roughly half the participants on our three
tours picked Australia, as did the majority of those venturing to
the eclipse by any means. Since totality in Africa was three times
longer than in Australia with the Sun much higher in the sky, I
figured the attraction for Australia was mainly the sightseeing. And
while that was the case for some, I was soon to learn that it was
not the only reason.
Our adventure began in
Sydney with tours of the city, suburbs, and renowned Bondi Beach, as
well as a luncheon cruise of famed Sydney Harbour. Many in our group
used some of their free time to visit historic Sydney Observatory
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Photo by Dan Hurley |
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overlooking the harbor. Beautifully restored, the
main building features many fascinating exhibits and one of
the world's few functioning time balls. In the days before modern
communication, time balls were a way of visually marking time so
that clocks, and especially ship's chronometers, could be set
accurately. Each day the ball, large enough to be visible from great
distances, would be raised on its central column and dropped to mark
the precise start of an hour, typically noon. |
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Bondi Beach |
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Photo by Doris Hill |
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Photo by Bob Stephens |
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From Sydney we were off
to Cairns on the northeast coast of Queensland, gateway to the Great
Barrier Reef. One highlight of our stay in this tropical setting was
a visit to the nearby mountain village of Kuranda and a
7.5-kilometer (3.5-mile) "Skyrail" trip on cable cars above a
tropical rain forest. Another was a daylong snorkeling and diving
excursion to the reef aboard the Quicksilver high-speed catamaran.
Even for novice snorklers such as myself, it was one of the most
outstanding aspects of the trip, and one not soon to be forgotten.
A day of travel took us
from Cairns via Adelaide to our eclipse-staging area at Parachilna,
in the Outback of South Australia. As a "town" with a full-time
population |
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Photo by Carter Roberts |
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that numbers in the single digits, Parachilna might seem an unlikely
spot for a hotel, but the nearby Flinders Ranges is one of the
Outback's most popular tourist destinations. With a lively bar and
award-winning cuisine that includes kangaroo, camel, and emu
(I'm not making this up), the Prairie Hotel provided some of the
most memorable accommodations during our trip. There was also the
spectacular Outback sky at night, with rich offerings for everyone,
whether they observed with the naked eye or any of several
telescopes set up by tour participants. |
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Photo by Carter Roberts |
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Photo by Dan Hurley |
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Copyright 2007 TravelQuest
International. All rights
reserved. 800-830-1998
Revised:
April 06, 2009.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Other products and companies referred to herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of
their respective companies or trademark holders. |
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