Thanks Tim,
Hats-R-Us. My favorite is the cork helmet, often mistakenly called a "pith helmet" (I, of course, also have a true pith helmet). All hats are too hot for Niku but you do need something to keep the sun off. The cork helmet does that, plus it doesn't blow off in the wind and it provides protection from falling coconuts. The latter may sound silly unless you've watched a five-pound coconut come down from a forty foot tree. The biggest drawback to the cork helmet is the commentary from colleagues.
The squeeze box (concertina) is a lot of fun and it's less bulky than a guitar (which I couldn't play anyway).
In many ways these expeditions are, by necessity, a sort of 19th century enterprise and, for me, both the headgear and the music are a connection to that time.
Ric