Pictures of the eclipse
Hugely encouraged by the fantastic success of the 2001 trip we were soon booked in for 2002. The eclipse track was quite similar to the previous one, so some part of Africa seemed to be indicated. Unfortunately, as it would be in the rainy season, there was less guarantee of clear skies. Research indicated that somewhere near the border between Zimbabwe and South Africa would offer the best chance (about 60%) so we chose a trip that gave us some time game viewing in the Kruger National Park before heading over into the Mozambique bush. A site survey with GPS receiver and ancient OS-style maps at the camp of a venerable ex-pat soon found a perfect viewing spot - high on a rocky outcrop - so we all pitched camp and waited for the morning.
At first light heads were poked out of tent doors and then, most unfortunately, taken back inside with a groan - cloudy! The cloud had been building for some days, due to a whole series of fronts coming across the area in an unusually mixed period of weather. Two days before would have been perfect, even the day before could have been OK, but on the actual day - nope! I had brought with me my specially purchased (and very heavy!) equatorial mount, packed very carefully into the soft bags we had been permitted to bring on the trip, so in hopes of getting something I thought I'd better assemble it and set it up. This latter exercise seemed to be going very oddly until I realised that the outcrop we were standing on was made of iron-rich rocks - doesn't really help compass alignment! Once a clear spot was found the compass behaved itself but it was 1999 all over again: a few glimpses of the crescent phase but no totality. Admittedly there was a split second when the corona was vaguely visible through cloud but it was too brief to take a photo - a huge disappointment. The darkening was just as dramatic as ever but after experiencing the glory of Zambia this was a complete let-down. Others had better luck, with the coast getting a clearance just at the right time and some areas further north-west enjoying the weather we had had in the days before, but the major viewing areas in the Kruger also saw little. Given that the entire tour was not one of the better ones we've been on - the Mozambique section was entirely devoid of game, for instance - this was a totality to forget.
Pictures of the eclipse
