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Itinerary Details

Friday: We will arrive in Victoria Falls at approximately 12:15 p.m. local time. You will need to purchase a double-entry visa (currently $45.00) and transfer directly to Mowana Safari Lodge (about 1½ hours). 2:00pm -- welcome drink and check-in at Mowana. Afternoon at leisure. 6-10p.m. – Dinner at leisure included in your package. During this time a hospitality desk will be set up with Eclipse Edge representatives where you can pick up programs, badges, etc. There is a large informal lounge with a bar to relax in overlooking the Chobe River.

Saturday: Breakfast and lunch at leisure. Enjoy game drives and river cruises which last three hours and leave at 6:15 a.m., 10:00 a.m., and 3:30 p.m. and will be pre-arranged. One game drive and one river cruise is included for each guest daily. These times can be changed at the hotel tour desk if necessary. 7:30 p.m. – get acquainted theme dinner at the pool area.

Sunday: Breakfast and lunch at leisure. There will be opportunities for a 6:15 a.m. and/or a 10:00 a.m. game drive or river cruise. Everyone would be back at the lodge by 1:00pm. 2:00 p.m. – Transfer to Victoria Falls (this involves a boarder crossing into Zimbabwe, hence the need for the double visa). On board the bus you will receive tickets to the magnificent Victoria Falls, along with a briefing of the various options for touring the falls and precautions for those choosing to go on their own via a path behind our hotel. 4:00 p.m. – Welcome drink and check-in at the Kingdom Hotel. Dinner at leisure. 6-10 p.m. – There will be a hospitality desk set up in the lobby to sign up for optional tours and seek advice on restaurants and shopping in the area. Many sites and restaurants are within walking distance. At the Kingdom is a separate activities building for all ages, including a casino, various lounges, a sports bar, pizza parlor, play room, and shops.

Monday: Breakfast at leisure. Adventure Day! Brace yourself for your choice of adrenaline pumping adventure! Real daredevils can white water raft, or river board down the gorges of the Zambezi River (just after the falls). This is a full day of rafting over level 4/5 rapids. It’s very exciting and not for the timid. Rafters may choose to paddle or just hang on. Lunch is included. Those wanting to do the “Gruesome Twosome” can then be taken the Victoria Falls Bridge for a sunset Bungee Jump down the gaping gorge to within a meter or two of the Zambezi River. This is the highest natural point in the world from which to Bungee jump (111 meters) so if you’re ever going to do it, this is the place! Other adventures include:

• “the Flight of Angels” – a buzz over the falls in a helicopter. This offers amazing photo ops, and game can often be seen from the Arial safari. 

• Elephant rides. 

• Canoeing and kayaking in the peaceful, serene waters of the Upper Zambezi, above the falls, with guides.

• We can also arrange horseback riding, fishing, skydiving, or mountain biking excursions. 
  7:30 p.m. – Transfer by coach to the nearby banquet location. We will enjoy an elegant outdoor bar-b-q on the banks of the Zambezi with native tribal dancing. 9:30 p.m. – Transfer back to the Kingdom. 

Tuesday: Breakfast at leisure. More adventures or just relax by the pool. Enjoy the many activities the hotel has to offer. For those wishing to visit the falls, they are within walking distance from the back of the hotel along a guarded path. (This is national park property and there can be wild animals.) A guided tour can be arranged inexpensively. You may also wish to visit the curio shops (within walking distance), or visit the Victoria Falls Hotel (also walking distance), the first and most luxurious of the hotels in the area. 7:30 p.m. – Evening lecture on the eclipse and other exciting new astronomical findings, at the Kingdom. 

Wednesday: Breakfast at leisure. 10:00 a.m. – check-out of Kingdom. Motor coach transfer to Kariba. 5:00 p.m. – Arrive in Kariba. Transfer to rooms on houseboat on the Lake Kariba. Sunset cruise; dinner; pre-eclipse briefing; star-gazing. 

Thursday: Breakfast at hotels. 10:00 a.m. – Transfer by motor coach to eclipse viewing site (1½-2 hours), driving through the Zimbabwean mountain wilderness. 12:00 p.m. – Arrive at Chirundu, stopping at convenience store for use of facilities, get snack. 12:30 p.m. – Arrive at the viewing site, a beautiful private residence on a hillside overlooking the river. 12:30 p.m.-4:00 p.m. – Eclipse viewing with outdoor picnic lunch. 4:00 p.m. – Transfer back to Kariba and disperse to hotels. 8:00 p.m. – Dinner at hotels with gathering afterwards (location to be determined) for traditional showing of eclipse videos (possibly at the country club next to the Most High or at the Breezes). 

Friday: Breakfast at hotels. 8:00 a.m. – Transfer to Harare for flights home around 2 p.m. 

Extended expedition options (some possibilities include):
For those wishing to spend more time in Victoria Falls, it is possible to return from Kariba to Victoria Falls: Suggested hotels for a much different experience – 

• Victoria Falls Safari Lodge – for those seeking a relaxing atmosphere 

• The Elephant Hills Hotel – has a great view and golf course 

• The Victoria Falls Hotel – very elegant colonial style 

Fly nonstop from Kariba to Hwange and enjoy a 2-night tent-camping safari.
Fly from Kariba to Bulawayo for a much different experience in a large city and beautiful mountainous region.
Fly from Kariba to Johannesburg and spend 2 nights at Sun City. 
Other options include Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambek.   

What's so special about a total eclipse of the Sun?  

 If you've ever seen a solar eclipse on television or seen pictures in a book, dismiss those images. They don't begin to tell the story. If that's all there were to the event, there wouldn't be tens of thousands of people traveling across countries and continents to get to the eclipse. Everyone would watch it on the evening news.   

Here's a brief overview of what the TV images cannot show you. The partial eclipse begins about an hour before the total eclipse. During that period, the silhouette of the Moon starts to pass in front of the disc of the Sun. If you look toward the bright Sun through a protective filter, you can see by eye that the black outline of the Moon's disc is creeping across the Sun's disc very gradually. All around you, the air takes on a strange hue and an eeriness that is not seen under any other conditions. As the eclipse advances, all of nature senses the change. Birds come to roost, cocks will crow, and all manner of animals and plants revert to their nighttime posture even in the middle of the day. So you can already see that the phenomenon is considerably more influential to nature than, say, the Sun going behind a cloud. Clouds block the light of the Sun, but eclipses block all wavelengths of solar radiation.   

The landscape gets progressively darker, and temperatures start to drop. Only those standing under the approaching shadow sense these effects. If one looks at the ground under a tree with leaves, or anywhere light from the Sun passes through small spaces, each such hole will project an image of the crescent Sun blocked by the advancing Moon on the ground. Hundreds of crescent images may be visible all over the ground.   

If one has a view toward the west, the advancing shadow of the total eclipse may be visible even before it arrives. It is especially noticeable if a cloud bank or bright landscape is in the direction where the blackness will cover it before it reaches your own position. The shadow advances at an average rate of 50 km (30 miles) per minute.   

In the final minutes before the eclipse becomes total, many more things happen. Shadow bands may suddenly appear and shimmer over all ground objects. The Sun's atmosphere, called its corona, starts to become visible as a bright ring around the black lunar disk. The disappearing crescent shrinks to a brilliant gem on the edge of the brightening corona. This effect is called the “diamond ring”. Mountains along the lunar limb break up the last of the crescent into “Baily's beads”. The inner solar atmosphere, called the chromosphere, makes its reddish presence known – called the “flash spectrum”. Brighter stars and planets appear. Solar prominences, gigantic explosions along the Sun's limb, may be seen with the aid of binoculars. A total solar eclipse is a multifaceted experience, and the impression it leaves on the viewer is one of awe.   

Where will the 2001 eclipse be visible?   

Somewhere in the world, there is a total eclipse of the Sun almost every year. But each is visible only in such a narrow path that, if you stand and wait for one to come your way, the average wait will be 400 years. That is why people who wish to view what has been called nature’s most beautiful spectacle must travel to do so.   

For North American observers, the last total solar eclipse was visible from Hawaii and Mexico in July 1991. Regrettably, the next one will not occur until the year 2017, when a total solar eclipse can be seen in a narrow band across parts of the United States. For the coming 2001 total eclipse, Africa is the best land area for viewing.   

On June 21, 2001, the shadow of the Moon will first touch the Earth in the South Atlantic off the coast of Brazil, and rush eastward across the Atlantic Ocean toward its first landfall in Angola, Africa. It then crosses Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Madagascar, ending at sunset in the Indian Ocean.   

Where is the best place to view the 2001 eclipse?   

Of course, weather considerations dominate our eclipse site selection process. In 2001, we have an opportunity to combine several unique spectacles along with one of the longest and most promising eclipse viewing experiences. We will visit the magnificent Victoria Falls, one the seven wonders of the world; we will take a mini-safari in nearby northern Botswana, boasting some of the best game viewing in Africa; and we will visit Kariba, the area closest to the eclipse viewing site, with the largest man-made lake in Africa, seen from houseboats on the lake.   

We could not have chosen a better time for this event in that area. Kariba, potentially unbearably hot during certain months, will be it’s coolest and driest during June. The temperatures are generally in the 70’s with clear skies. Also, because of the dry weather, malaria risk is relatively low during that time, although the CDC still recommends taking the usual precautions.   

At 3 p.m. local time, we will be situated in a town north of Kariba, on top of a hill with good visibility. Should there be cloud cover (unlikely in that area) we have some alternate locations on the road back to Kariba. Weather-wise, our probability of eclipse visibility at totality from this area is 70%. When our mobility is considered, that probability increases. Locations farther west in Africa often have problems with smoke from constantly burning fires. Further east, the percentage of cloudiness increases everywhere, even within Zimbabwe.   

Why observe from near the path edge instead of the centerline?   

A total eclipse of the Sun is spectacular. A partial eclipse is merely of passing interest. In like manner, just how spectacular the total eclipse will be depends upon your location within the path of totality.   

For two hundred years, astronomers predicted and observed total eclipses of the Sun, and simply assumed that the best place to be was in the middle of the path. It was obvious that the eclipse was longest on the centerline of the path; and that the rare view of the Sun's beautiful white outer atmosphere, the corona, which can be seen only during eclipses, was also longest on the centerline. So without much further thought to the matter, astronomers assumed that all interesting total eclipse phenomena were best seen from the centerline.   

What an embarrassing blunder! To show just a single example of how wrong that naive notion was, consider the most colorful part of the Sun's atmosphere – the innermost past above the Sun's visible disc, called the chromosphere. It received that name because of its ruby red color. But astronomers have tried their best to study the composition of the chromosphere for two hundred years, limited to brief moments during total eclipses when they could see it. On the eclipse centerline, the chromosphere is visible only for a few seconds between the disappearance of the brilliant photosphere of the Sun's disc, and the moment when the chromosphere itself disappears behind the Moon's black obscuring disc.   

During those precious few seconds, astronomers tried to take photos of the spectrum of the chromosphere to learn its composition. So brief was the appearance of this most intriguing part of the solar atmosphere that successful results were referred to as the “flash spectrum”. In just moments, the opportunity was gone. How foolish those astronomers would have felt if they had realized that, near the edges of the path of totality, where the disc of the Moon slides by the disc of the Sun for a prolonged period and the chromosphere remains visible throughout, they might have prolonged their view of the chromosphere by a factor of ten or more. Indeed, from our Eclipse Edge Expedition site for the 2001 eclipse, we may expect about 70 seconds of continuous chromosphere visibility. We will see more of this rare phenomenon than most astronomers who have chased eclipses all their lives all over the world. Moreover, eclipse photos taken from our site will have more color in them than corresponding photos from the centerline because of the chromosphere’s red color.   

But it is not just the chromosphere view that is prolonged near the path edges. Most total eclipse phenomena, the ones that make the eclipse spectacular, are also prolonged near the path edges. Moreover, their probability of being seen at all is enhanced. Consider a few more examples.   

The mysterious “shadow bands” are far more likely to be seen, both before and after the total eclipse, from sites near the path edges; and they will usually last 2-5 times longer than on the centerline. The diamond ring effect will usually last ten times longer near the path edges. Baily's beads are also prolonged in duration by an order of magnitude. Moreover, while just a few beads may form and stay in place for centerline viewers, near the path edges numerous beads are forming and dissolving constantly and seeming to travel along the limb as the two discs glide past one another. Each eclipse has its own personality, especially in regard to bead formation and corona appearance.   

For the 1991 eclipse, the corona of the Sun contained many long streamers, reflecting the intense solar activity that was occurring at the time, near sunspot maximum. That may be seen again in 2001, nearing the next maximum of the sunspot cycle. Finally, prominences (giant eruptions on the Sun's limb) may be seen far longer from the path edges. And historically unusual events, such as expanding rings of light and other rare occurrences, are usually seen only from near the path edges.   

Several considerations favor centerline viewing. The solar corona is visible for the greatest time from the centerline. Faint stars near the Sun that might show up the Einstein light-bending effect on sensitive photos can be seen longer from the centerline. There is more time to view other sky objects such as planets during totality from the centerline. And amateur astronomers who compete to have the greatest number of minutes of totality accumulated in a lifetime must view from near the centerline to improve their personal statistics.   

The following considerations apply to most total solar eclipses: (1) As one moves off the centerline by as much as 20% of the distance to the edge, the average duration of totality drops merely 2%. The true duration of totality is governed by irregularities (mountains, craters, valleys) at the Moon’s limb, so the longest eclipse may occur almost anywhere within this central 20% zone. So precise positioning exactly on the centerline has no real value. (2) The position where the duration of totality falls to about half that on the centerline is about 90% of the way to the edge of the path. (3) The best overall views of the eclipse and related phenomena are generally seen at about 95% of the way to the true (lunar-limb-corrected) edge of the path, where the duration of totality is one-third of the centerline duration.   

For the most part, people who view from the centerline do so for historical reasons, or because the relative merits of the choice to be made have never been presented to them. Such people may not realize that they may have missed the most spectacular view. Astronomers who have in recent years gone both to the centerline and to near the path edges seldom go back to the centerline. The consensus opinion of people who have tried both is that one misses out on too many enhanced edge phenomena from the centerline to make the extra overall eclipse length a good tradeoff.   

For the June 21, 2001 eclipse as viewed from Zimbabwe, the centerline duration of the total eclipse will be about 213 seconds. From our selected primary site at the expected optimum viewing location, the duration of totality will be 71 seconds – one-third the maximum available in our vicinity. However, the 3.5-minute period centered on the eclipse will be rich in phenomena throughout. Our expedition will be to the vicinity of the southern edge of the path in 2001, as it was in each of our four previous expeditions open to the public. That is where we feel we will get the most spectacular overall view of the most interesting total eclipse phenomena.   

We are prepared to abandon the edge and move closer to the centerline only if conditions threaten to allow no eclipse view at all near the path edges. This is consistent with the recommendations of the professional astronomers who cooperate with Eclipse Edge Expeditions, some of whom are veterans of more than a dozen eclipses. Although you may encounter friends planning to view from the centerline who caution that the eclipse from near the path edges is shorter, we doubt you can find any astronomer who has viewed an edge eclipse who would not enthusiastically endorse the edge view in preference to any other. The centerline viewers simply don’t know what they are missing!   

Who is “Eclipse Edge Expeditions”?   

Eclipse Edge Expeditions is a subsidiary of Meta Research, Inc., a non-profit astronomy research organiza­tion based in Washington, DC. The scientific coordinator is astronomer Tom Van Flandern, author of Dark Matter, Missing Planets and New Comets, a book about the origins of bodies in the Universe that also contains one chapter about eclipse viewing (North Atlantic Books, 1993; 2nd edition 1999). Van Flandern was a research astronomer at the U.S. Naval Observatory’s Nautical Almanac Office for over 20 years, where he became the chief of the Celestial Mechanics Branch that is responsible for computing local circumstances for eclipses. The eclipse expedition branch of Meta Research exists for the purpose of mounting expeditions of professional and amateur astronomers and other interested persons to near the edges of the path of totality for total solar eclipses. Meta Research’s number is 360/504-1169. Recorded information about Eclipse Edge Expeditions may be obtained from its toll-free number, 800/898-3343 (3343 = “edge”)   

Eclipse Edge Expeditions had successful solar eclipse expeditions to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico in 1991, Santiago, Chile in 1994, the Galapagos Islands in 1998, and Istanbul, Turkey in 1999. It also organized a partially successful expedition to observe the Leonid meteor storm of 1999 from the island of Cyprus.   

What will the expedition consist of and what will it cost?   

Included costs: Airfare from Washington, DC to Victoria Falls, Victoria Falls to Kariba, and Harare back to Washington, DC; all ground transportation throughout; 7 nights accommodations; all meals at Mowana Safari Lodge and in Kariba; game drives and river cruises in Mowana; breakfasts and one dinner in Victoria Falls; baggage handling and pre-check in; non-alcoholic welcome drinks upon arrival at each location; eclipse viewing instruction; lunch at eclipse site; lectures and night-sky-viewing program by professional astronomer; closing banquet, guides throughout; entrance to Victoria Falls National Park; sunset cruise on Lake Kariba; post-eclipse gathering.   

Excluded costs: Airfares from cities of origin other than Washington, DC; double-entry visa to Zimbabwe (currently $45.00); departure tax from Zimbabwe (currently $20.00); 2 dinners in Victoria Falls; 3 lunches in Victoria Falls; incidental charges to room in all locations such as mini-bar, room service, etc.; daily optional excursions in Victoria Falls; extra game drives and river cruises in Mowana.   

Our base-cost expedition uses Washington, DC as a reference. Origin at New York JFK airport adds $158 pp; or origin at Los Angeles adds $213 pp. We will have add-on fares available from your home city to one of these airports. The total cost for the 8-day/7-night expedition is $3900 for a single or $3500 per person for double or triple occupancy. (Although triples cost less for most of the expedition, they cost more on the houseboats, which can accommodate a maximum of two people per room.) A special rate for children staying in the room with their parents will apply that will be approximately 75 % of the adult rate. The rate originating in Johannesburg is $2850 for a single or $2450 per person for double or triple occupancy. We will also offer a short program without the first two days at Mowana at a reduced cost of $500 less per person for the full plan or $700 less per person for the ground only plan. (Note: June 14 is the latest date for departures to get the “out-of-season” air fares.)   

How does one join the expedition?   

First, you must decide if ours is the expedition for you. If you think it is, then you can reserve a space by sending the registration form with a $900 pp deposit (full program) or $500 pp (ground program). You should receive an acknowledgment and receipt within 30 days confirming your space reservation, assuming space remains. At this time we anticipate space availability limited to 100 persons. When that space is filled, we will form a small waiting list in case of cancellations. Those on the waiting list who cannot be accommodated will receive a full refund of their deposit.   

You can cancel your space reservation at any time prior to March 31, 2001 for any reason, and receive a refund of 80% of your deposit. Cancellations thereafter will be subject to larger non-refundable penalties on a schedule that will be announced in a later bulletin. The schedule for payment in full will also be announced, and will be set no earlier than necessary to guarantee space for all registered participants. If you are undecided, $20.00 will keep you on our mailing list for further bulletins about the 2001 eclipse. (Announcement bulletins for future eclipses are send free to everyone on our mailing list.) If you join the expedition at any time, the $20.00 will be credited toward your expedition fees.   

Your second step is to plan your itinerary. The expedition is planned with the assistance of Paula Foggo at Perry Travel in North Carolina. To assist you with your individual plans, for connections from your city of origin, and assistance with add-on destinations in Africa or elsewhere call Paula direct at 800/371-9361 (USA toll free) or 828/645-0257 (non-USA), or fax her your request at 828/299-8083.

What disclaimers apply?   

Eclipse Edge Expedition Z'01 will make its best efforts to provide all accommodations and services as described herein. But many factors are beyond the control of the organization. Especially, we cannot control the weather! We will give priority to eclipse viewing and attempt to relocate on busses as needed so as to permit successful eclipse viewing. But ultimately, should nature not cooperate, the organization cannot provide compensation to its surely disappointed members. Likewise, should the flood of demand for flights, rooms, buses, and services cause some unexpected disruption in either your travel schedule or in the reservations or commitments we have from airlines, hotels, and other service providers, we will do our best to seek alternatives suitable to most participants, but ultimately cannot be responsible for such disruptions as are not within our control. You should be aware that demand for facilities and services at times of total solar eclipses is often so intense that even guaranteed, prepaid contracts are sometimes not honored by businesses in foreign countries. We make every effort to ensure that our contractors are reliable, and/or that alternative arrangements can be made on short notice whenever possible.   

We also will do our best to ensure that all scheduled speakers and hosts appear; but should illness, injury, or other events beyond our control intervene, we may have to substitute. We will do our best to ensure that you will not be disap­pointed. At the very least, we hope our week will be an educational experience and an adventure to remember even if the weather fails to cooperate on eclipse day.   

If something unexpected were to prevent part or the whole expedition from going at all (such as a political event or a natural disaster), then we would refund that portion of your cost which is not already spent, or which is refundable to us. But some portions of the costs must be paid well in advance, and might not get refunded in full to us, even under such circumstances. All we can assure you is that Eclipse Edge Expeditions and its personnel will not keep any of your money if the expedition is unable to go, and will act diligently to recover all funds already expended on your behalf.   

All participants to make their own customary arrangements for accident and health insurance. No insurance is provided by Eclipse Edge Expeditions. Participants might wish to consult the CCD advice about malaria in Africa, even though we will be traveling during a relatively low-risk period. We will provide updated information as departure time draws closer.   

Your signature on the registration form acknowledges and accepts these conditions.   

Summary   

Join us for a unique and memorable educational and adventurous experience! Let experienced astronomers and local guides show you how to view the eclipse and nature for maximum enjoyment. 

(1) Send your reservation form (click on preceding link) with deposit as early as possible to: 
Eclipse Edge Expedition Z’01 
PO Box 15186 
Chevy Chase, MD 20825-5186 

(2) Check back here from time to time for updates on the status of the expedition. Your friends who are interested may also be referred to our recorded announcement at 1-800-898-3343 (1-800-898-edge).