Some Highlights from our 4 week trip to New Zealand and Australia.

Friday, October 30, 2009

Hat Country

The ozone is thin here. You know the "hole in the atmosphere" that we used to talk about before "climate change" became the phrase of the day? It's right here, hovering over Australia and New Zealand, leaking ultraviolet rays down on the continent. It must have made things pretty bad for the British colonials who settled here. The Anglo-Saxon complexion is not well suited for these conditions and the "white" faces in Australia range from mildly sun-swept to blotchy-red and bleached.

There have been some adaptations. This is a nation of hat-wearers, where Rafia's and Fisherman Caps are fashionable, and a whole industry is devoted to men's hats such as Akubra's, Barmah's, and Kakadu's. Sun hats of various sorts are integral in children's uniforms, and in this British-style education system, nearly every school has one.

It's quite a sight to see a school field trip, which consists of a crowd of matching wide-brimmed hats, moving like a school of fish down the sidewalks. The inevitable flock of seagulls follows them, hoping for an easy snack if a lunch crumb falls from somewhere. And herding them along are the school matrons, red-faced even beneath their caps, trying not to loose any of the little ones.

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