Well now, how do you know that it is us, rather than you, who is upside down or rightside up?

http://flourish.org/upsidedownmap/hobodyer-large.jpg

(Except that to call it an 'upsidedown map' begs the question)
And there is NZ (the island in pink by the red line) looking down on y'all ;-)

I can't really imagine snow. Australia is flat and fairly much a desert (aside from the inhabited parts mostly around the coast) so there isn't much snow here. One skifield, I do believe, and rather disapointing for the lack of snow.

I was from the North Island in New Zealand (much warmer than the 'lord of the rings' scenery and snow in the South Island). The Hobbit Village (rolling green hills) weren't so far away from me. Ski fields a couple hours to the south, but I only went once as a kid. So... Never seen it snow.

I'm going to visit the US in January! My first trip out of the Southern Hemisphere! Somewhere in the mid-west so I don't expect it'll be as cold as it gets further north. Apparently it snows sometimes, but the snow doesn't last long on the ground. Will be colder than I'm used to, though. I don't know that I'll get to travel around much this time. But I'm hoping to go to North Carolina for a year from next August and I'll try and do some travelling then...

The hardest thing about the Southern Hemisphere is that because it doesn't get all THAT cold (by objective world standards) we don't prepare well for it. No double glazed (or triple glazed) windows or central heating for us. Often it is actually warmer outside than it is inside and the standard solution to the problem is 'put more clothes on'. Just incase you think I'm whining for no good reason my friends from Canada maintain that Canadian winters are easier to cope with because at least people are prepared for them (with glazed windows, central heating, and indoor malls).

All the native trees in Australasia don't lose their leaves in the winter - because the ground doesn't freeze so they don't need to. The imported varieties do still lose their leaves, though. That means that we don't get the amazing 'falls' that you guys get, though. In fact... We don't even call it 'fall' (we call it autumn), maybe because... It doesn't really.

My friend from England said that living in the North Island of New Zealand was like living inside a giant tupperware container because the weather was temperate all the time. Not much in the way of distinct seasons. I certainly notice the summer / winter shift in Australia, though. I'm just really very grateful that I don't live far up north in Australia (in Queensland or Darwin, for example) because it is MUCH hotter up there and I really don't think I'd cope. Though... They are better prepared for it with air conditioning and swimming pools, I guess...

I miss the tupperware container (weather wise). Though... I wish God thought to put the rain on the OUTSIDE. Apparently they marketed NZ as 'subtropical' to the imigrants in the 1800's. They expected sunny sunny sunny but I think 'subtropical' means rainy rainy rainy really (thats how come the country is so green).

I need to make sure nobody in Australia hears me say this... But I just LOVE it how it hardly ever rains here. I'm sick to death of rain. I know there is a drought on and it sucks for the farmers etc etc etc but the absence of rain is a wonderful thing indeed. Except for having to moisturise about 5 times a day to prevent dermatitus and having to clean all the dust out of your nose a couple times a day to ensure you can breathe of course. We are getting some great storms just as it starts to get dark now. The sky turns black and it thunders. Doesn't rain much (just a couple drops) or a torrent for about 5 minutes (so it doesn't really soak into the rocky ground before it evaporates) but I really like that :-)