September 2nd 2014: Acclimatisation

The hardest thing about a trip to the tropics is acclimatising – firstly to the heat and then to the cold when you return. I'm lucky to have had a few trips to the tropics for various assignments in the past few years and I've learnt a few tricks. The first one is to avoid air conditioning at all costs when in the tropics. It does two things: my camera gear stabilises its moisture content and won't fog or condense. Secondly, by avoiding air conditioning your body quickly adapts to its new surroundings and if you're going to be physical in the heat it allows your muscles to recover more quickly. Jumping in and out of the cold of air-con just confuses your body's processes.

I also try to adapt quickly to local ways ... in the case of Samoa, that means learning how to select, harvest and peel coconuts – the water of which is among the world's finest natural electrolytes – the perfect recharge after a surf or day in the sun. 

Coming back the other way is not so easy. The 28°C sea temperature of Salani in Samoa is in stark contrast to the 10°C water temperature at Blackhead in winter. There is no easy option other than to get straight into the water with your best wetsuit, hood and booties. That's exactly what I did on Sunday at Blackhead with a mate. It's certainly not the tropics, but to have the whole coast firing with light winds all week and hardly a crowded spot to be found ... well, maybe this is a little slice of paradise after all.

We're past the hump of winter, we're into spring so get amongst it. I know I will be.

See you at the beach ... Derek

PS Looking for a Father's Day present? We've still got a few copies of Dunedin Light Seasons. You can order one right here.