e who witness them; Homer wrote about a total eclipse in the ancient Greek epic The Odyssey. Eclipses are some of nature's most awe-inspiring spectacles, and great excuse for a party. Solar eclipses occur a couple of times a year, but the total blocking of the sun is only visible from a small part of the earth's surface. A total solar eclipse will take place on 13/14 November 2012, and Cairns, in far north Queensland, will be one of the best places on earth to witness the incredible event.
Make your way to festival events being planned in Cairns and surrounding regions: details can be found at www.solareclipse2012.com.
RAIN OF FISH, HONDURAS
Virtually every year in June or July, dark storm clouds gather over the small town of Yoro and unleash a tremendous summer rainstorm. In the downpour appear thousands of silvery fish, flopping on the ground. Locals believe the phenomenon is nothing less than an act of god. They trace its origin to a 19th-century Spanish missionary who prayed for a miracle to feed the people. Biologists say it can be explained scientifically, but have yet to provide any conclusive evidence. Either way you look at it, it's an occasion for a party: the annual Festival de la Lluvia de Peces includes parades, music and lots of fried fish.
Base yourself in bustling San Pedro Sula, with its great entertainment and nightlife; from here it's a three-hour bus ride to Yoro.
MORNING GLORY CLOUDS, AUSTRALIA
Be up bright and early at dawn for the chance to watch a meteorological wonder roll into northern Australia's Gulf of Carpentaria. The Morning Glory is a tubular cloud (or series of clouds) up to 1000km in length, that rolls across the sky in the early morning, pushing great updrafts ahead of it. It's these updrafts that have made it one of the great places for gliding and hang-gliding adventures. First soared in 1989, Morning Glories have carried gliders for more than 700km and up to six hours.
The Morning Glories usually occur from September to late October. Burketown in northern Queensland makes a good base for viewing.
POROROCA TIDAL BORE, AMAZON RIVER, BRAZIL
At the mouth of the Amazon, the Atlantic's tide occasionally – when the moon is right – gets the better of the outpouring river. The result: the longest tidal wave on earth. In the predawn light you'll hear the monkeys screeching and a distant dull roar before you see the wave – all 4 metres of it charging upstream, taking all manner of shoreside debris, and some very intrepid surfers, along with it. The surfing record to date is a 12.5km ride lasting 37 minutes. You'll be able to enjoy the spectacle at the annual National Pororoca Surfing Championships in São Domingos do Capim in March.
The pororoca occurs twice a day, three days a month; waves are biggest in February and March.
RACETRACK, CALIFORNIA, USA
Who wouldn't expect a few oddities in a place like California's aptly named Death Valley? Prime among them is the mystery of the 'racing' stones in the valley's remote north. These large, flat stones, some of which weigh as much as 180kg, have 'raced' across the earth, leaving grooves in the dry, cracked lake bed behind them. Nobody has actually ever seen any of the rocks move, and science's best guess is they've been blown across at times when the lake bed is slippery from rain or frost.
You can camp in Death Valley, but with furnace-like temperatures you might prefer an air-conditioned lodge (www.nps.gov/deva).
This is an extract from Lonely Planet's 1000 Ultimate Sights © Lonely Planet 2011. RRP: $34.99. lonelyplanet.com