Stunning solar eclipse graces Easter Island

WHAT do flower garlands, warrior drums, cocktails and special sunnies have in common? Easter Island reveals one of the world's most stunning events.

A Rapanuian man in traditional dress looks at the sun through his eclipse glasses. Picture: Angela Saurine

EVERYWHERE I look across the sunny green field there are people with big cameras or telescopes mounted on tripods, clutching binoculars or wearing cheap 3D-style cardboard glasses.

There are people sitting in picnic chairs, on rugs, on clear plastic raincoats or leaning against stone walls, all looking skywards. Behind them, waves crash against the jagged, black volcanic rocks, sending white spray in all directions, and the wise, regal faces of half a dozen of Easter Island's giant, ancient statues, known as moai, stare down. I can't help but wonder what they would make of all the fuss.

Several words come to mind when I think of Easter Island, or Rapa Nui to its natives: eerie, mysterious, mystical, remote, rugged, barren.

Globe trotters
I can think of no better place to witness the rare sight of a total solar eclipse and it seems I am not the only one. The population doubled to about 8000 for the July 11 event, as people flew in from around the world after NASA pronounced the island the best place to see the eclipse.

Our group gathers for the event in an area near one of the field's few trees, where a small thatched hut has been erected. Pisco Sour Chilean cocktails, made from distilled grapes, are being served and some of the island's Polynesian men, dressed in traditional warrior costumes, are painting the faces of onlookers.

I line up and one of the warriors comes over to me, dipping his paintbrush into a large shell to extract the mud. He concentrates intensely as he delicately smears it in a pattern of lines and dots across my face, hurrying to finish as the others call him away to perform a tribal dance.

An islander woman wearing a garland of fresh, red flowers takes over, untying a feathered headdress that hangs on a nearby branch and tying it to my head with the help of a friend. There's nothing like getting into the community spirit.

As the dancers perform their haka-like ritual, a tiny girl wearing a long feathered cape and headdress watches in awe, clapping enthusiastically. When they finish dancing they put on their eclipse glasses and check the sky. In their traditional outfits it is a hilarious contrast of old and new.

I am so caught up in the festivities I almost forget to check the sun. When I put my eclipse glasses on, I am surprised to see the moon is already covering about two-thirds of it, forming a crescent shape. As the afternoon wears on it starts to get colder and the vibrant, light green grass turns a darker colour.

There had been a lot of clouds in the air - an eclipse chaser's worst nightmare - as I arrived on my 3700km flight from Chile's capital Santiago that morning. A cloud teasingly passes in front as we near the crucial moment, but when the eclipse occurs soon after 2pm it is all clear.

The eclipse
The crowd begins to cheer and clap and soon it is dark. Not pitch black, but dark nonetheless. The cheers get louder, cameras flash and a drum starts beating as one of the warriors lights a fire on the end of a stick and they start dancing again.

Through my camera I can clearly make out a round circle over the sun, with a blazing white glow around it. It is an impressive sight in an impressive place.

At four minutes and 41 seconds, the eclipse is considered on the lengthy side. A similar eclipse in Ceduna, South Australia in 2002 lasted for only 32 seconds. It seems to last for an eternity and then, all too quickly, it is over.

It feels like dawn breaking in an instant. Everything is light again.

A solar eclipse can be seen somewhere on the planet about every year-and-a-half when the moon passes between the sun and Earth, blocking light and casting a shadow on the world. In recent years, eclipse chasers have flocked to China, Siberia, Libya, the Caribbean, Turkey and Zimbabwe for similar events.

After it is all over, we head back to the island's only settlement, Hanga Roa, and have a late lunch of ceviche (raw fish), tuna and Chilean wine overlooking the ocean at the island's newest hotel, Hanga Roa Eco Village, before heading off to see more of the island.

The Island
Easter Island is shaped like a rough triangle, with a volcano at each point. With about 2000 archeological sites, it is often described as the world's largest outdoor museum.

There are 877 moai spread throughout the island, the tallest standing about 22m. About 400 moai, in various stages of construction, can be seen in the former quarry and volcanic crater at Rano Raraku. There is still debate about why the moai were created and how they were moved, adding to the island's mystery.

A ship from a Dutch expedition discovered the island on Easter Sunday in 1722. It was later claimed by the Spanish and visited by Captain James Cook during his world exploration.

At its peak, the island's population was in the thousands, but it shrank to only 111 people in 1877 after Peruvian slave traders kidnapped hundreds, including the king. When they eventually returned they brought diseases such as smallpox and tuberculosis.

On the plane over, I had watched a documentary that reiterated that the island is the remotest inhabited place on Earth. In it, a man who lives on the island spoke of the time, as a child, he saw his first plane - thinking it was a giant bird coming to eat them, the Rapanuians ran. Things have changed a lot since then, with NASA extending the airstrip to be an emergency landing area for space shuttles, and tourism booming thanks, in part, to the 1994 movie Rapa Nui, produced by Kevin Costner.

At the airport that night, I meet several other Australians who paid thousands of dollars to be there for the eclipse, some putting up with hotels without hot water and others camping. Some are amateur astronomers linked to Sydney Observatory and Brisbane Planetarium, while others are just ordinary people who thought it would be a great experience to combine with a trip to South America.

Greatest natural phenomena
Jim Blanksby, from Melbourne, says he is a veteran of 12 such eclipses. At the other end of the scale, Mike Gibbs, a 27-year-old counsellor from Sydney, was an "eclipse virgin" before Easter Island.

Dick Cjiffers, from tour company Journeys Worldwide, says nothing compares to seeing a solar eclipse.

"It's the oldest, greatest, natural phenomenon," he says. "We didn't see anything at the previous eclipse in Shanghai because it was totally clouded over. Today's eclipse was right up there."

I leave feeling exhilarated, but disappointed I didn't have time to see more of the sights. I'd like to say I'll be back, but with its remote location, I know it is unlikely. But I decide if I do return, it will be during the Tapati Rapa Nui festival.

Every February, Rapanuians take part in canoe races, body painting contests, moai carving contests, dancing, bareback horse-riding races, a traditional triathlon and a fascinating event called Haka Pei, in which a dozen men in body paint and breechcloths run down the side of an extinct volcano on a sled made of banana tree logs tied together. With the next total eclipse not due for another 300 years, it would have to be the next best time to visit.

The next solar eclipse will be seen above the sky in Cairns, Queensland on November 13, 2012, weather permitting.

Travel Tips: Easter Island Destination Guide

Holiday Ideas: Follow the Sun

The writer was a guest of LAN Airlines.