Jump to contentThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged inAllNewsSportCultureLifestyleHotels in Dunedin, New Zealand, are already fully booked for the total solar eclipse on 22 July 2028, two years in advance. The city will experience 2 minutes and 51 seconds of darkness at 4:17 pm, marking New Zealand's first total solar eclipse since 1965. The eclipse path will cross from the Indian Ocean, through central Australia, before reaching New Zealand, with Dunedin at the centre of the line of totality. About 50,000 visitors are expected to flock to Dunedin for the event, which coincides with Matariki, offering a unique cultural and scientific celebration. Separately, a significant partial solar eclipse, with around 90 per cent coverage, will be visible across the UK and Ireland on 12 August 2026, the most extensive since 1999. In fullNew Zealand hotels sell out two years before historic total solar eclipseMore bulletinsThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in

The countdown is on as Dunedin prepares for daytime darkness for the first time since 1163 AD.

Dunedin will be the focal point, having last experienced such an eclipse in 1163 – before any humans reached New Zealand