Near Sallum: talk about good timing. The moon's just taken its first bite out of the sun and here comes Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's entourage, all sleek cars, flapping flags and one aristocratically waving hand. I wave back.

It's 11.20am. Mubarak, 14,000 astronomy geeks and I have gathered in the Egyptian desert to watch a total eclipse of the sun. We are here, not far from the Libyan border, because the pros say that's where we'll get nearly five minutes of totality. That's the, well, total time that the moon fully covers the face of the sun when all three bodies line up, one behind the other.

Evidently, totality doesn't get much longer than this. My British astronomer friends Heather Couper and Nigel Henbest — collectively known as Hencoup — say this will be one of the best in a decade. That's why they've signed on as celebrity astronomers for this two-week eclipse tour of Egypt, and I'm along for the ride.

It seemed a great idea. I would see my first eclipse and take in the sights with friends. I never guessed we three would join two busloads of 63 eclipse fanatics...

Fun with the Egyptian sun, Leigh Dayton, The Australian, Australia, October 02, 2006.