Bored Shorts!

We arrive in Coff's Harbour, probably about half way between Sydney and Brisbane. Although Sydney does have beaches, Bondi been the most famous of the bunch, this is out first real visit to a beach resort.
Something always puzzled me about Australia and hot beach type places in general, in Britain a lot of emphasis is put on the clothes you wear, both in terms of personal individuality and creating an image of status. Now, given that the average Australian doesn't wear that many clothes, in actualiy a pair of shorts and a pair of flip flops, I always imagined Australia to be a highly developed nation where personal ego had been left behind some hundred or so years ago.
To my surprise I know understand that the battle of clothing is very much thriving in the land of down under. Instead of a nice piece of jewellery or a lovely suit or the latest branded jumper, the competition lies in the pattern and colour of your Board(surfing clobber) shorts. There are some fantastic examples and the shops are full of them, reds, greens, blues, all with big prints of flowers and palm trees. Not totally unlike the pair of burmuda shorts I made in Home Economics all those years ago.
One step on the beach I was quickly to realise I was sightly out of my depth, and my standard blue navy shorts were receiving evil glances and the odd "tssskkk". Something had to be done! Instead of tramping to our nearest surf shop and joining the rat race, we chose to go canoeing up the nearby river, as I always say "if you can't beat them, complete avoidance!"
That night in an odd coincidence my shorts disappeared in an unexpained laundry incident?
Well of to the hippy beach resort of Byron Bay, where I might just purchase a new pair of shorts, not because I want to fit in but because I have to!