I receive quite a few emails asking whether my books are relevant for readers in the Southern Hemisphere.
The answer is ‘yes’, but only if readers are happy to apply the principles and general patterns not get stuck on labels or species names.
All the principles in my books have relevance wherever we are in the world, but the labels, details and species vary.
For example, once we understand the Earth-Sun relationship, as set out in The Natural Navigator book, we can work out how to navigate using the sun anywhere in the world. But it is a book written for Northern Hemisphere readers, so it does refer to sun being due South at midday, not due North.
The same is true of the stars, once we know the rules that explain how they reveal direction, we can look for patterns that work in our part of the world.
The same adjustment works for most other sky and weather clues: as a general rule, you can swap clockwise for anticlockwise (and v.v.) for many wind patterns and north for south when it comes to many solar effects. (The one big sun exception is the start or end of the day, where the effects are very similar – the sun still rises north of east in June and south of east in December, wherever you are.)
Making Maps and Compasses with Nature
There are plants that love sunlight and others that like shade, the species vary, but once we know this simple truth we can use plants to find direction. There are plants that like wet conditions, others that like dry soil, the names vary, but this helps sketch part of a map wherever there are plants growing.
The same general principle applies with animals – the habits of birds, mammals and insects can help us make a map, but the names and species are specific to each region.
The clues and patterns in How to Read Water are more global as they are less dependent on solar or wind angles.
Reading Trees
Learning how to read tree shapes and patterns is a significant natural navigation skill, so it is worth considering this area. The clues and signs in the book, How to Read a Tree, are written for readers in the north temperate zone, but I’d still recommend it for those in the southern temperate zone, if they would like to know the rules that explain the patterns. I wouldn’t recommend it for readers in the Tropics however, unless they have a broad interest in trees.
You might also enjoy:
The Collection – Hundreds of photos and videos of natural clues and signs from around the world