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CNN Live At Daybreak

South Africa Eagerly Awaits Solar Eclipse

Aired June 21, 2001 - 07:46   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's go to the scene where we are all going to be watching the eclipse from.

CNN's Charlayne Hunter-Gault standing by in Zambia. And she mentioned at the top of the hour this eclipse is a very special event for one particular tribe.

And, Charlayne, we understand that the king of that tribe has just arrived.

CHARLAYNE HUNTER-GAULT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's a most exciting moment. They've been waiting for him all day, I think waiting for him more than they've been waiting for the eclipse.

He's just arrived in a 4X4. And all of the warriors who are going to reenact the scene where his descendants came across the Zambezi River into Mozambique, they're going to reenact that. That was the moment when the eclipse happened and they all thought it was some sort of bad omen. This king is a descendant of the of the one who was born just after they crossed the Zambezi. So that's going to be reenacted. The people here are very excited. They're about to take off in boats to head across to the exact spot where his descendants crossed.

Meanwhile, there are people from all over the world joining the locals from here to watch this -- not only this reenactment, but to watch the eclipse. Many of the children are here -- all of whom are out of school because a holiday was declared at the last minute yesterday, are here. Many of them don't have glasses, but they do seem to be aware that they're not supposed to look directly at the sun.

However, they have been practicing with leaves off of the trees and with little candy wrappers. So it promises to be a very lively and spirited event. Some people are here -- have been here camping all night. They've just been passing out their glasses. They've driven from Lusaka, which is about 4 1/2 hours away. And that's the city where the totality is going to be most visible. So there is extreme excitement here. There's a picnic/party atmosphere. And everybody is just waiting for the big countdown.

LIN: As are we.

Charlayne, can you tell, is the light changing at all? Can you see any physical change around you?

HUNTER-GAULT: No, there's no physical change yet, although it couldn't be a more perfect day. There isn't a cloud in the sky. As I look out toward the mountain chain of Mozambique and back to Zimbabwe, there's a little bit of haze, but that haze has been here all day. Nothing at this point is happening to indicate that anything phenomenal, such as this eclipse, is about to happen, except for the excitement of the people.

LIN: Yes. We can tell right behind you. Thank you very much, Charlayne Hunter-Gault. She'll join us later.

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