Sun, UV and picking fruit in a New Zealand summer
This is the one piece of advice that is genuinely different here from almost anywhere else in the world, and visitors regularly get caught by it.
The UV really is stronger
Peak summer ultraviolet in New Zealand is substantially stronger than at the same latitude in the northern hemisphere. Three things stack up: thinner ozone over this part of the world, unusually clean air with little of the haze that filters northern light, and the Earth being closer to the sun during the southern summer.
The practical consequence is that unprotected skin burns in a shorter time than most people expect, on days that do not feel especially hot, and it burns through light overcast.
A berry row has no shade
Orchards and berry fields are planted for light interception, which is the opposite of shelter. Assume full exposure for the whole visit.
- A brimmed hat rather than a cap
- Sunscreen on before you leave home, because nobody stops to apply it in a row
- A light long-sleeved shirt, which is cooler than bare arms in direct sun and also handles raspberry prickles
- Sunglasses: the glare off netting and plastic mulch is considerable
- Water, more than you think
Between about 10am and 4pm from September to April is the exposed window. Picking at opening time is better for your skin, more comfortable, and better for the fruit.
It is better for the fruit too
Berries picked in the cool of the morning are firmer, hold together on the drive and taste better, because the sugars have not been burned off in the heat of the day. Strawberries picked at 2pm in January are soft before you reach the car.
The car is where fruit dies
A closed car in a New Zealand summer car park gets hot enough to finish a punnet of strawberries or boysenberries in a quarter of an hour. Take a chilly bin, put the fruit in it as you leave the field rather than when you get home, and keep it out of the boot, which is the hottest part of the car.
If it is overcast
Go anyway, and protect yourself anyway. Cloud reduces heat far more than it reduces ultraviolet, which is exactly why people get burned on days that felt mild.
Updated 10 September 2026