By a stroke of absolute genius/coincidence, four days after
arriving in Cairns there was to be a total eclipse – the next one in this area
will be in 500 years. We, and from TV estimates, 60,000 eclipse chasers
descended on Cairns (which made booking hostels difficult, we ended up sharing
a three bed dorm with a random guy from Taiwan as we couldn’t get a private
room) to see the total eclipse on 14 November between 05:45 and 06:45; the
eclipse would only last two minutes but TV said be ready between those times
for it.
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| Just before the eclipse |
We woke up nice and early on 14 November, at 05:30 and
headed towards the lagoon, which faced the East so the direction of the rising
sun. Surprisingly, a lot of local people were standing/seating around the lagoon
in spots behind a building that covered the sunrise. Naturally, Nicola and I
not being dimwits, found a spot where we could actually see the sunrise – or at least that was the theory.
As luck would have it, a tremendously cloudy morning was
forecast and we were hoping Michael Fish had made the forecast but alas he
didn’t, as when we found the perfect spot the clouds rolled in and obscured the
view. As the countdown began we hoped that the clouds would roll on by, but
alas, they did not. We did get to experience the surreal experience of the day
turning especially dark for two minutes before becoming bright again, but we
didn’t see the moon blocking the sun. Nevertheless, we saw what it would have
looked like on TV so we didn’t feel too hard done by. Although, after
purchasing questionable eclipse glasses for $2.50, we were kind of relieved not
to test them out with the sun’s full fury – whoever made the glasses could not
spell Queensland, they read Tropical Far
North Queenland Eclipse. Perhaps the clouds helped preserve our eyesight
after all.
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| Eclipse darkness...spooky |
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| What it should have looked like... |
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| ...what we saw of the eclipse |
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