Traveling to NZ? Watch that sun!

I'm dark blond, I have fair skin and green/yellow eyes. Yup, and I burn in the sun. I burn *badly*. When I think of all the horrendous sunburns I had as a child, those with the huge blisters on the shoulders that made it impossible to wear anything without being in tears, the dryness from the dehydration, and the peeling skin, I wonder how so many of us survived childhood. Those burns were so bad that today, they're often treated as second degree burns, with burn ointments and treatment.

Wearing sunscreen is absolutely essential if you can't avoid being out in the sun. But covering up is better. Even still, the sun could be strong enough to cause harm, especially in a country like New Zealand. Fellow writer and blogger, Melanie McGinn moved to New Zealand a while ago but still gets burned by the sun if she's not careful.

She writes about how easy it is to get sunburned in New Zealand, likely because the "clean air, the hole in the ozone layer that hovers over us combined with the angle of the summer sun create perfect conditions for sunburn."

I suggest you pop on over to read her piece, Tips: New Zealand Sunburn and Avoiding the Lobster Look. I do so want to visit NZ one day - but I'll be sure to be extra careful. If I can burn under the Canadian sun, I shudder to think how I'd do under the New Zealand sun.

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