I haven’t been to New Zealand but I can give you some info about Australia.

I’ve never been to Perth, but I have been up the east coast, which is fantastic. The Great Ocean Road is great, Melbourne is a great city, a little bit grubby but with a lot of character.

Canberra, while interesting enough if you like museums is probably a bit dull if you want to do something in the evening.

Sydney, for the brief time i was there seemed like a good city.

Traveling north of Sydney and seeing the transition to rain forest was quite impressive.

While Brisbane is alright for a short stay, by most accounts the gold coast, just south of Brissy is more ‘happening’. I haven’t been north of there, but the Daintree Rainforest is apparently fantastic, just a little bit away from Cairns.

For that matter, Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory is world renowned.

Another thing, fly around or take the train wherever possible. Buses between locations are incredibly dull, boring and slow!