Thousands to watch rare total eclipse in Australia

The sun is covered by the moon during a total solar eclipse in the Indian city of Varanasi in 2009 Tens of thousands of people flocked to Australia on Monday to watch a rare total solar eclipse, a phenomenon officials say has not been seen in the region in 1,300 years.  The Queensland state government expects up to 60,000 visitors will witness on Wednesday the alignment of the sun, moon and earth. The phenomenon will create one of the most spectacular sights in nature, essentially turning day into night.
Northern Australia is the only place where crowds will be able to view the eclipse, which will mainly take place over the vast South Pacific.
The eclipse starts at sunrise in the Northern Territory east of Darwin and passes across Australia\'s top eastern cape before heading out over the South Pacific towards the north of New Zealand.
The whole process will take several hours, with the skies in the path gradually darkening and lightening again, but the maximum duration for the total eclipse on the Australian mainland will be two minutes and five seconds.
The best place to view the eclipse will be between Cairns and Port Douglas, tourism hotspots close to the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree rain forest.
Tourism operators say everything from camping grounds to five-star hotels have been booked up, with other eclipse watchers set to view the event from hot air balloons or boats moored on the centre line of the eclipse.
A partial eclipse will be visible in Papua New Guinea, the extreme eastern part of Indonesia, eastern Australia, New Zealand, Polynesia, part of Antarctica and the southern part of Chile and Argentina