 |
Johannesburg Centre,
Astronomical Society of Southern Africa
|
 |
|
|
Lusaka - 21
June 2001
3 Minutes in
"Darkest Africa"
Thursday finally arrived. It felt like a totally different adventure we were about to begin – given that on Sunday I (Lori) had almost forgotten that this was THE week. The weather was looking extremely promising as we left for Johannesburg International. A crystal clear winter’s morning. A few more things to do – anticipation, excitement, wonder awe – this was truly going to be an unforgettable day. At the airport Brian Fraser’s, our superb trip organiser, stress levels were being unduly tested. We were late – somehow we’d confused the boarding and departure times. After been shunted through the airport at double speed so we could make the final boarding call – we were greeted with a well deserved "I’m going to kill you!" Once on the plane it was time to focus – TOTALITY IN LUSAKA. The flight to Zambia was not as eventful as we had hoped: the fly-over over Victoria Falls was not possible; conditions were just not favourable. We did get a chance to make new friends and reflect on events to come. LUSAKA – The radio tower at Lusaka airport is probably still talking about the parking problem. There was an interesting assortment of aircraft dotted around the airport – intrepid eclipse chasers travelling from all over the globe to witness the "blessing of Zambia".
THE VILLAGE - About 600m from the airport an eclipse village had been set-up. Walking out of the airport we could see the village but how to get there. Boldly setting out on what seemed to be the most direct route, we negotiated traffic into a fenced parking lot. With a little advice from a local we finally made our way to our observing spot. We managed to set-up next to the technical area – but still enjoy a lot of interaction with the locals. It was great fun watching families making this an outing to remember. We also spotted a number of interesting ways of designing a braai.
THE COMMENTATOR - One of the people who made this a memorable event was an exuberant local announcer. His messages were simple, and included:
Just before the eclipse was about to get truly spectacular we were treated to a convoy of cars. The President had arrived. The consensus of all the people who rushed to see him was: "But he’s so short". Our own little observing party was slightly disrupted by a walk-about. During which Eben shared some of his eclipse experiences with Dr Chuluba.
After setting up camp again, we were able to meet some interesting people and be amazed. A number of Zambian students were roaming the grounds introducing themselves and asking what they should be watching for. THE ECLIPSE
At this point the crowd was amazing. Words fail me entirely.
Personally, I have never felt more In closing I’ll let the faces of people tell the story of harmony, awe and amazement
I have never seen so much film wasted on such a good purpose.
Brian, thanks for a life changing experience! Can't wait for 4 Dec 2002!
|
| ||||||
