Why did we do this trip? by Mark Sukhija

By: Mark Sukhija

[ Trip Overview ] [ Why we did this trip ] [ Egypt ] [ Eclipse day ] [ Libya ]

The purpose of this trip was to see the Total Solar Eclipse in the desert of Libya. Although numerous locations were available to see the eclipse from, including some sites in Egypt and Turkey, we selected Libya.

The site in Libya would afford a period of totality just short of four minutes - which compares favourably with periods of totality in Egypt or Turkey.

We were informed of this Journeys Worldwide, tour by Peter Anderson of the Astronomical Association of Queensland in 2004 and we were keen to get our reservations in as soon as possible. Peter Anderson was also responsible for organising the AAQ trip to Ceduna (South Australia) in 2002 for the total solar eclipse there - so we were pretty confident he knew what he was doing eclipse-wise.

As many eclipse trips book out a long time in advance, some times years in advance, we booked our trip around 18 months in advance.

Aside from the eclipse itself, the trip offered by Journeys Worldwide also provided access to Libya which was, until very recently, a country closed to westerners. A recent thawing in relations between the west and the Libyan regime has allowed the country to slowly open up to tourism. With some of the best preserved Roman and Greek ruins in the world in a country enigmatic to many Westerners a trip to Libya was too good to turn down.

Recent posts

Rome - 14 things not to miss My personal advise on what to do and see in Rome
Mt Egmont and King Edward Park Mt Egmont seen from the King Edward Park playing fields in Stratford
Stratford Glockenspiel The Stratford Glockenspeil in Taranaki
The Antelope - the dog friendly pub The Antelope - your local, dog friendly, beer friendly pub
Ancient Rome - 8 must see highlights Must see ancient monuments around Rome
Antwerp - de Kathedraal Historical information about the gothic Antwerp Cathedral
Antwerp - what to do, see, stay and eat What to see, where to stay and eat in historic Antwerp
Austria - recommended places to stay Recommended hotels in Vienna, Salzburg and Bregenz

Further reading

Related posts

European tourism and rail organisations - a quick reference (L) - A reference guide to European tourism and rail organisations (L)

Why chase solar eclipses? - Why I chase total solar eclipse all over the world

Europe - Travel information from around Europe

Lucerne - 7 things not to miss - What not to miss in Lucerne

Berne Münster (Cathedral) - a brief history - A brief history of the Cathedral in the UNESCO-protected old town of Berne

Lucerne - a short history of The Lion Monument - A brief history of the Lion Monument in Lucerne, Switzerland

Travel pictures - Pictures from my travels in Switzerland, Italy and New Zealand

Switzerland - places not to miss - Sixteen places not to miss around Switzerland

2017 Solar Eclipse - United States - Travel plans for the Total Solar Eclipse in 2017 across the mainland United States

New Zealand - A personal guide to things to do, see, eat and drink in New Zealand

About Mark Sukhija

Mark Sukhija is a travel and wine blogger, photographer, tourism researcher, hat-touting, white-shirt-wearing, New Zealand fantatic and eclipse chaser. Aside from at least annual visits to New Zealand, Mark has seen eclipses in South Australia (2002), Libya (2006), China (2009) and Queensland (2012). After twelve years in Switzerland, Mark moved back to London in 2012. You can follow Mark on Twitter or Facebook