Crowds gather to watch Pacific total solar eclipse

Crowds gather in the Pacific region, including East Timor and Western Australia, to watch a total solar eclipse which plunged parts of the region into daytime darkness.

"This phenomenon is very rare in East Timor" explains Flaviana Pinto Fernandes, head of the East Timor Meteorological Agency.

One of those watching the event in Exmouth, Western Australia, is German enthusiast Michael Mushardt, who rescheduled his honeymoon to see the eclipse.