Shadow falls over Africa

Angola was the first country to see the full eclipse

The first total solar eclipse of the new millennium has been taking place in southern Africa, with thousands watching across the continent from Angola to Mozambique and Madagascar.

This is going to be one of the greatest days of my life

Austrian tourist

The eclipse took about an hour to travel from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean.

Thousands of tourists travelled to the continent, where many wildlife enthusiasts gathered to see the effects of sudden darkness on animal and bird life.

But there have been concerns that many local people were risking damage to their eyesight by looking directly at the sun, because they were unable to afford protective glasses.

Scientists travelled to the region to take measurements from the Sun as it passed in to and out of eclipse.

National holiday

Zimbabwe and Zambia have been in a perfect position to take advantage of the tourism opportunities.

Revellers get ready at a 10-day eclipse rave near Lusaka

Angola's civil war discounts a large influx of tourists, and poor infrastructure hampers Mozambique and Madagascar.

In Zambia, eclipse day has been declared a national holiday, with hotels in the capital Lusaka fully booked.

The country is expecting 20,000 visitors according to Tourism Minister Michael Mabenga and he estimated that the country could make $15m from the event.

"This is absolutely amazing. We have had a thoroughly good time," said Edgar Strunz, a 23-year-old tourist from Austria.

Some have glasses, but many do not

"This is going to be one of the greatest days of my life," he said.

Members of the Ngoni tribe plan to recreate their crossing of the Zambesi River when they fled the warriors of the Zulu King Shaka in 1835 during an earlier solar eclipse.

In Zimbabwe the eclipse has highlighted the impact that the recent political trouble has had on the tourism industry.

Zimbabwe's tourism board says the north of the country, which is in the path of the eclipse, is fully booked, but people will not be staying in the country for long.

One Zimbabwean tour operator said people were coming for two or three days. Looking ahead, he also said that he had no bookings for Christmas.

Eye fears

The authorities in Angola have been distributing the glasses and trying to warn people not to damage their eyes by looking at the sun during the eclipse.

But the country's crumbling infrastructure - not to mention the civil war - are huge obstacles in the way of getting the message across.

Safety posters are up in Luanda

Six million pairs of special protective sunglasses have been imported, of which two million are meant to be given out free to the most needy people.

But in the provinces some of these supposedly free glasses are changing hands for $2 a time.

In Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe shops were reportedly sold out of glasses more than 24 hours before the eclipse.

Many people in Zimbabwe watched the sun through pieces of aluminum foil, sold by street vendors to people waiting for the eclipse.

In Madagascar, foreboding messages over a backdrop of tense music have been punctuating television and radio broadcasts for the past few weeks, and posters warning people not to look at the sun without protective glasses are plastered on public walls.

They have been told it is bad to look, but they do not seem to understand why.

"People in my village say they have to be careful as someone called eclipse is coming on Thursday and they mustn't look at him or they could go blind," said one Madagascan.

Foreboding

For some people, the eclipse is a bad omen.

"It means there are going to be problems, that there will be bloodshed," said Peter Sibanda of the Zimbabwe National Traditional Healers Association.

In Angola, the government warned people not to believe doomsday sects, who preach that people should look directly at the sun without protective glasses to welcome the new messiah.