Sydney or Melbourne
Auckland or Wellington

I went to museums and zoos in both Auckland and Wellington. Both offer various things to see and are easy to get around. Wellington is smaller though for some reason I want to say it’s easier to get around Auckland. Perhaps because I spent more time there so I got to know the transportation system better. The best museum in the country is Te Papa in Wellington and it’s free. Another reason for Wellington is that it’s the capital so you can visit Parliament and see the outside of the Beehive. Auckland has the most people though. There’s a mountain range close to Auckland and one of the backpacker buses that tours the country has free day trips in Auckland (kiwi experience). I took it 2 or 3 times because each time they may go somewhere different so you’d have to ring them up to find out if they’re going to the Waitakere Ranges. There’s a short hiking trail there. However if you really want to experience the kiwi wilderness, you’d have to go to the South Island so perhaps fly to Queenstown, the sporty adventure city (bungee jumping, jet boats, skiiing, etc.). From there, you can sign up for various activities at the hostels.

Kiwi Experience bus

the day trip bus goes to the Arataki visitor Centre (if they still offer it)

Auckland zoo

Wellington zoo

Te Papa

The following is a must see and do list of all the things Melbourne, and the broader state of Victoria has to offer (well the majority of things to do)

The Royal Melbourne Zoo
Werribee Open Range Zoo.
Healesville Sanctuary
Melbourne Aquarium
Melbourne Museum.
National Gallery of Victoria
The State Library of Victoria
Luna Park
Puffing Billy
Fairy Park in Anakie
Queen Victoria Market (weekend market)http://www.qvm.com.au/home.php
Scienceworks
Melbourne Observation Deck
Eureka Tower
Eureka SkyDeck
Rialto
Sovereign Hill
The Old Melbourne Gaol (have a self guided tour or for something more scary go on a night tour (tickets fort this can be bought from ticketek 13 28 49 )
Federation Square
Polly Woodside (Melbourne Maritime Museum)
Fitzroy Gardens
Botanic Gardens
The Arts Centre ( Easily identified by its 1115m spire, this is the home of the Australian Ballet Company and Melbourne Theatre Company. It also houses the Performing Arts Museum and has a fine collection of Australian art)….

You also gotta go to Phillip Island and check out the Penguin Parade. While in Phillip Island go to Amaze ‘n’ Things

If you are hanging out to do some shopping whilst in Melbourne, not only can you find some bargains at the Queen Victoria Market, but DFO have heaps of designer brands at bargain prices, so you gotta check that out too.

Don’t forget to go down to Lygon Street for a bite to eat (there are heaps of Italian restaurants and there is an ice cream shop there (sorry I forgot the name of it) where they sell the best ice cream in Melbourne)

If you are after restaurants specialising in cuisines from all corners of the world – From Thailand to Spain, and from Turkey to South America for instance then the place to go is Brunswick Street in Fitzroy

If cakes and pastries are more to your liking, then a definate place you gotta check out is Acland Street in St Kilda. This is a street filled with the best cakes and pastries in Melbourne.

Chinatown is also a place you should check out if you are into Chinese cuisine. Not only this, but you can also go to the Chinese museum, and participate in a Chinatown heritage walk

If you are after a unique dining experience, why don’t you try Hard Rock Cafe and T.G.I . Fridays

For a real memorable dining experience, spend the night at the Titanic Theatre Restaurant in Williamstown (this is worth the money you pay) or the Colonial tramcar restaurant

You can also grab a bite to eat as well as a floorshow at the many theatre restaurants located in and around the city such as Dracula’s and Witches in Britches just to name a few.

If you feel in the mood for some serious gambling (its your choice), the place to go is Crown Casino. At Crown you can also grab a bite to eat at any of their 40 restaurants, cafes or snack bars, take in a movie at Village Cinema which is located inside Crown Casino, play ten pin bowling at King Pin bowling lounge, play interactive games at Galactic Circus, dance the night away at Fusion and Club Odeon nightclubs or just SHOP, SHOP, SHOP at exclusive designer boutiques such as Versace, Louis Vuitton or Prada just to name a few and other general fashion stores

Victoria can be called the sporting capital of Australia as it holds the Melbourne Cup (don’t forget to go to one of the weekly race meets at either Flemington, Caulfield
or Moonee Valley while you are in Melbourne), The AFL Grand Final, The Australian Open, The Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix at Albert Park and the MotoGP at Phillip Island just to name a few sporting events.

You can also find out of things to see and do at Docklands and Waterfront

There are plenty of other things that you can do while in Victoria, just go to the visit victoria website for more details or (that sounded like an advertisement just then * ha ha*)
Enjoy your stay in Melbourne and have lots of fun!!!!

australia is huge so you would need to pick one area or fly between destinations

After 3 or 4 days in and around Sydney, fly to New Zealand. A major problem is that because of the time zone change, you spend about 7 or 8 hours (on the clock) to travel from Australia to NZ and that is one of your precious days gone.

Most of the mountain valleys and other magnificent scenery like glaciers and glacial lakes are on the South island so fly into Christchurch, but the North Island is also well worth seeing for its thermal areas and it also has incredible and very varied scenery. For ideas go to:

As soon as you go 50 or so km out of just about any NZ city, you will see more sheep than you ever imagined could possibly exist.

You really will see very little of even one of those countries in a week. I suggest you do one this time and save up to do the other next. You won’t see the mountains and lambs in a city.They are in the country.The mountains you are talking about are probably the Southern Alps in the South Island. To get from Christchurch to the mountains and back in 2-3 days is pretty impossible.You can do day trips to a farm show from Auckland for lambs.
Have a look at my site listed below to see more about New Zealand. There is also a distance chart there. NZ is a bigger country than people realise to travel.

For Australia maybe try a city and visit a zoo to see the animals as there’s no guarantee you’ll be able to see them in the wild. I’d suggest Syndey or Melbourne, or going to Port Douglas if you want to see the Great Barrier Reef as well.

As for New Zealand- the south island has really pretty landscape. Fly into Christchurch and go from there.

you should try and have at least 2 weeks to visit Aust, if possible have 4 weeks