Solar Eclipse Chasing

Ever since my husband and I went to see the Solar Eclipse in South Australia in 2002, we thought it would have been cool to go eclipse chasing to see Solar Eclipses every couple of years. We went to Turkey in 2006 to see the Solar Eclipse and that was a great holiday. The next one which we would have liked to have seen was the 2009 India/China solar eclipse which was the longest solar eclipse of the century.

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This video is from Woomera, SA in 2002 (in fast forward) that I took (and had a blooper! Forgot to take the solar filter off when there was totality). Totality was short, a bit less than 30 seconds but it was low on the horizon and being in the desert, we had a fantastic cloudless sky.

This photo was taken on a beach near Side in Turkey 2006. A bit blurry but it you can get the feel of what it was like to be there! Weather was fantastic, we were very lucky that time! Side itself was packed with NASA people and lots of buses, as there was a huge party planned there. There was a temple of Apollo in Side which would have made it a really cool place to take a picture of a solar eclipse... but the crowds were unbelievable!

The beach we were at had hardly any people though everyone there was eclipse chasing, with their telescopes, cameras and Solar shades!







Our next Eclipse that we plan to go to will be in Australia again! On November 13 2012, at about 6:39am there will be totality over Northern Queensland for about 2 minutes and 4 seconds. This picture is from Hermit Eclipse.
Unfortunately it will be the wet season, with the average rainy days in Cairns for November at 10, and average cloudy days at 7.5, so we might get lucky, or we might not.

Now where should we stay? Port Douglas or Cairns? Fortunately there are a multitude of places to stay at those places, so I've put a couple down here so I can remind myself closer in the future.

Port Douglas

Sheraton Mirage Resort

My husband stayed here at a conference. They have villas for apartment style living with lots of luxury features. Prices start from $330 per night for 2 double bed in one room.



Mantra Heritage Apartments
A 2 bedroom suite goes for about $320, and looks nice and comfy with all the usual resort style features. Located on 16 Warner Street. A little pricey in my opinion though.





Cayman Villas Apartments
This looks like a more affordable place. 2 bedroom apartments go for $240 a night and they have discounts for longer stays. Located at 35 Mowbray Street.




Cairns

Cairns Queenslander Apartments
Cute and tidy looking, these 2 bedroom apartments are $168 per night. Located at 268 Lake Street.