Tim Roxborogh's travel bugs: Australians not knowing what season it is in NZ

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A weekly ode to the joys of moaning about your holiday.

"So what season is it in New Zealand right now?" I've been asked this so many times over the years by (usually) young, well-meaning Aussies and it happened again on my most recent trip to 'Straya. It's normally the follow-up to, "I really want to go to New Zealand but I hear it's really cold". Then comes the query about the season.

I love Australia and I'm sure the affliction of never having looked at an atlas is not limited to our transtasman cousins, but I still struggle to let things like this slide. If it's July and I happen to be in Australia and the "what season is it in New Zealand?" yarn enters the conversation, I can't limit my answer to merely, "winter". Did these people go to map-free schools?

Maybe it was due to an expat childhood with seven years in tropical, just Northern Hemisphere-qualifying Malaysia that I always had a concept of hemispheres, climates and where different countries were. But irrespective of where you grew up, to be so ignorant that you could reach adulthood and have no inkling that a country sideways and slightly down from you might have their winter at the same time is almost worthy of a dead leg. I'm a pacifist, but a good old-fashioned Charlie Horse (that's a swift knee to the side of the opponent's thigh, causing temporary and occasionally comedic leg paralysis) may be warranted.

Short of that you can do what I do and ask back, "what season do you think it'll be?" Then either correct or confirm with them it's winter, but not without quizzing them as to why a geographically parallel country may find itself in summer during the Aussie winter. And if all of that's a bit wordy and you're losing your audience, perhaps bust out the dead leg. God speed!

Reader feedback on whether it's okay to secretly restock the mini-bar

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about a foiled attempt I'd made at secretly restocking a hotel minibar with much cheaper items from the supermarket ["The restocking-your-own-minibar dilemma", Travel Bugs, July 10]. I didn't get away with it, but it turns out plenty of readers have! Here's some of the best feedback I received:

"I've done that many times Tim. Works for the most common items. Beer and soft drinks. Occasionally wine. I arrived at a hotel once at 10pm. Opened a bottle of wine. It wasn't that nice. Next day I tried to replace it but couldn't find the same so I bought a NZ wine I know and like. Put that in the hotel fridge. I figure next customer would be better off." — Anthony

"I often purchase minibar items from a local supermarket or farmers' market before checking in to the hotel. Sometimes I bring my own minifridge ... " — Rick
"When my parents visit in Hong Kong a can of Heineken costs HK$65 (NZ$12) in their mini bar but at the 711 or supermarket you can buy a replacement for HK$6 (NZ $1). — Justin

"Have saved a ton doing this, only take items easy to replace and skip on the sensored ones. Sometimes you have to delay room service." — Michael

As to whether Rick really brings his own minifridge, perhaps we'll never know, but I've taken great comfort in realising I'm not alone in my cheapskatery!
Thanks for writing in.

Tim Roxborogh hosts Newstalk ZB's Weekend Collective and blogs at RoxboroghReport.com.