South Pacific Sun

[lynn love 2 travel]

I have been watching Survivor Cook Islands and it seems as if all the players are wearing hats. Should that be a concern?

[go the naki]

I live in New Zealand and the South Pacific sun is very harsh. You should keep out of the sun between 11am to 4pm or if in the sun wear a hat and long sleeved shirts etc. SPF 30 sunscreen should be applied and remember to put more on after swimming. You don't want to ruin your holiday by getting sunburn. New Zealand and Australia have the highest Melanoma (skin cancer and untreatable) rates in the world. The South Pacific sun is ok for people with dark skin (although they still burn) but for the white European skin it is not good. Sunscreen will not give you total protection. Sorry to rant but both my husband and I had Melanoma's removed in our early 40's, have had friends die from it and have seen friends from the Northern Hemisphere treat our sun with no respect and been severly burnt.

[2manyplaces]

The last time we were in Australia, we saw kids coming home from school and they all had on hats. Our tour guide told us that because of the high rate of skin cancers in that part of the world, it is required that school children in some areas wear hats when outside. There is a great deal of public awareness about the sun and the potential damage it can cause. If you are going anywhere in the South Pacific, wear a hat and use lots of high quality sunscreen!

[Honeymooners2]

The last time we were in Australia, we saw kids coming home from school and they all had on hats. Our tour guide told us that because of the high rate of skin cancers in that part of the world, it is required that school children in some areas wear hats when outside. There is a great deal of public awareness about the sun and the potential damage it can cause. If you are going anywhere in the South Pacific, wear a hat and use lots of high quality sunscreen!

 

Never been to the South Pacific islands - about to go this December. But I'm an Aussie. The ozone layer above the south pacific and Aus doesn't protect as well from harmful rays of the sun. So you need to wear 30+ sunscreen and hats and sleeves... otherwise you'll be burnt to a crisp.

 

Just also, it's odd that in other parts of the world kids don't have to wear hats! It's just a given here...

[Spikesgirl]

Been to the Cook Islands and absolutely you should wear a hat and use sun screen and pay close attention to what everyone else has said. I was out on our balcony reading and didn't immediately realize that the sun was shining on my foot. In less than ten minutes, it was fried and that was an adventure. After that, I made sure that even my toes were either sunscreened or covered. It was a painful, but memorial lesson.

 

Charlie

[wenmar]

I found your comment interesting. As an aussie we all wear hats and sunscrean (well those of us with any sense!!!). At school and pre-school there is a no hat no play policy (if you don't have a hat you can't play outside). Please wear a hat and sunscream. I learnt as a teenager the worst time to get sunburnt is on a cloudy day (you don't think of the hat and sunscrean). I would not dream of walking around any island in the south pacific without hat and suncream. We also have "rashi vests" which is a type of t shirt made out of lycra which goes over our cossie (swim suit) and protects us from getting burnt in the water. Most Aussie'w wear them (well those with sense) and our children have grown up accepting this as the norm.

Don't forget to apply your suncream every 2-3 hours. We have an advertising slogan here slip, slop,slap (slip on a shirt, slop on suncream and slap on a hat)

[chasetf]

I have been watching Survivor Cook Islands and it seems as if all the players are wearing hats. Should that be a concern?

It is for me.... being a lot "thinner" on top. I always wear a hat (baseball type) and have to remember to "grease up" my ears. My wife got me a "bathing cap" because the top of my head got sunburned while we snorkeled. :(

 

Another thing to mention is I have gotten the tops of my feet sunburned because I wear thong sandels. :eek:

[Princess-of-Quite-alot]

Another thing to mention is I have gotten the tops of my feet sunburned because I wear thong sandels. :eek:

Might be a bit OT, but my daughter tells me they are FLIP FLOPS, not thongs! :D Thongs to our kids are those floss like thingies you wear under clothes!!:eek:

[chasetf]

Might be a bit OT, but my daughter tells me they are FLIP FLOPS, not thongs! :D Thongs to our kids are those floss like thingies you wear under clothes!!:eek:

We always called them thongs until they came out with the same named underwear and bathing suits. I have also heard them referred to a flip flops.

 

That is why I clarified they were thong "sandals" so folks would know what part of my body I was rubbing suntan lotion on. ;)

[khicks1101]

As a Aussie, very few here spend too much time outside without a hat or cap, and sunscreen is even expected to be taken to school in school bags.

We don't tend to flip-flop here (flip-flop means a person that keeps changing their minds here), we wear thongs on our feet, and I have never mistakenly put my wife's g-string (what we call thong underwear) underwear on my feet by mistake, lol.

 

We have a saying when you go in the sun 'Slip,Slop,Slap'.

This means 'Slip on a t-shirt, Slop on the sunscreen and Slap on a hat.'

 

Do these things and don't avoid the shade and heat is never a factor, the suntan will take care of itself, but sunburn will take care of you.

[Princess-of-Quite-alot]

The sun in Tahiti can be very very strong, so you should always slather on the sunscreen...don't worry, you'll still come back home with a tan! It's also wise to snorkle with a Tshirt on, or else use a waterproof suntan lotion like Bull Frog on your back before snorkeling. There is nothing worse than getting a bad sunburn on your first day of vacation!

[DANofNORTH]

Just got back & here is our latest insight.

 

1. - Pre-tan before you go! We did & I think that it was the difference between a light burn & a very bad sunburn!

 

2. - It is hot & sunny. Wear sunscreen @ all times during the day. My wife had a little too much sun one day at the Intercontinental so the next day, while I snorkelled, she diligently stayed in the shade all day. The reflection off of the water gave her more of a burn anyways!

 

3. - I bought a Tilley hat for this trip. I suggest that you wear some kind of hat with a big brim.

 

4. When snorkelling wear a tee shirt. I did most of the time. When I didn't a couple of times, I got close to a burn, but I was pushing my luck. Also you will burn the top of your head (small balding spot) unless you use sun screen there too. Ouch!!

 

Have fun, but take a stong sun screen!!

 

Dan

[Julia’s Journey’s]

are the UV swim tops okay for the kids to wear while snorkelling, I am hoping to take those for my son who is on the fair side.

Cannot wait to get there but don't want to ruin our vacation with sunburn:eek: