Hotels in the New Zealand city of Dunedin are booking out two years in advance as the city prepares for the region’s first total solar eclipse in over 850 years. The rare celestial event is set to take place on July 22, 2028, at 4:17 pm, when the moon will pass in front of the sun, casting a 100km-wide shadowy band across parts of southern New Zealand.
The eclipse will bring daytime darkness to areas within the shadowy band, including the tourist hotspot Queenstown and Dunedin city, for 2 minutes and 51 seconds. Despite being two years away, hotels are already receiving booking inquiries, with the Dunedin Leisure Lodge fully booked for its ‘solar eclipse package’ that includes complimentary eclipse glasses.
According to Dr. Ian Griffin, an astronomer and director of Tūhura Otago Museum, the last total solar eclipse visible from Dunedin was in 1163, before humans reached New Zealand. Griffin expressed his excitement, stating that the people of Dunedin will be the first to witness a solar eclipse from this part of the world.
The event is expected to be a major tourism draw, with roughly 35,000 visitors anticipated to descend on the city, which has a population of 130,000. To mark the occasion, Dunedin’s museum has started a two-year countdown, and the city is planning a night-sky festival beginning with Matariki, the Māori new year, and culminating in the eclipse.
Griffin has been preparing for the eclipse since 2013 and has even bought a house with the event in mind. The eclipse will occur in the middle of New Zealand’s winter, just after the country celebrates Matariki. Griffin described the event as unique, combining a cultural holiday celebrating the night sky with a spectacular eclipse.
Dunedin Mayor Sophie Barker stated that anticipation for the eclipse is building across the city, with the event now firmly on the horizon.
