We are going to Australia and New Zealand in December this year for 22
days in total. Leaving from UK. We want to stop in Hong Kong on the
way.

Probably a split of 2 weeks plus Australia, 1 week minus in NZ.

I find the it all ratheroverwhelming. Anyone fancy suggesting an
itinerary for me, a mix of relaxing and seeing the great sites.

3 adults, plus  a 10 yr old and a 12 yr old.

thanks

Michael

HI,
I hope that there are a couple of Aussies and maybe a NZer or two who
will proudly give you advice.
Having lived there and visited NZ, and returned 25 yrs later for a
visit, I would suggest that you skip Hong Kong.  You won?t be able to
do justice to it, a night or two there won?t really help your jet lag,
and you?ll dread getting back on the plane for another long flight  -
in my opinion.  Better to get the flight behind you in one tiring
effort, kids and all.   AND  - I think -  when you get Down Under, you
would regret the time spent in HK, especially when you get to NZ and
hear what all you can?t see in just a week or less, but you will have
done your home work before then:  Moaris near Rotorua, South Island
with Franz Josef Glacier and  Milford Sound, a fjord worthy of Norway,
reached by driving through a rain forest.

I am sure you know how big Australia is, but coming from UK and
Europe, for many it is still a surprise.  Sydney, Melbourne and in
between or on to Adelaide is about what one can do if one doesn't fly
everywhere (S to A: a 12-14 day tour on one website).
Australia is a continent, like USA, where one cannot ?do? Boston, NY,
Washington, Grand Canyon, San Francisco, and Chicago in two weeks. 
But I hope ?stressedmum-ga? and others down under will add a great
deal more.

Hi there, and welcome in advance to Australia and NZ.
 
I'm in Melbourne and recently I commented on a question about 'What to
do in Australia?'  from a Melbourne, Victoria, perspective. Have a
look at  Question ID: 467412 (copy and paste that number into the
search field at the bottom of the page and it'll come up) and you can
see what a few of us had to say about Melbourne and its surrounds.
Just remember that it will be our summer at that time of year, but the
more south you go, the cooler it gets. Still gets mighty hot, but!

C'mon all you Kiwis, Sydneysiders, Brisbaneites, Sandgropers,
Taswegians, Territorians and Adelaidians etc etc, what should OS
visitors do in your neck of the woods around Christmas time?

cheers

Stressedmum

New Zealand and Australia are very different countries and the
contrast comes as quite a surprise to many from the other side of the
world.

I am a kiwi and therefore will offer suggestions on what to do in
Godzone. Presumably you will be flying in to Auckland. Although I
lived in Auckland for many years I don't believe it shows New Zealand
at its best. I wouldn't plan to spend any great length of time there.
Although the kids might enjoy Kelly Tarlton's Underwater World
(http://www.kellytarltons.co.nz/home/page.aspx). This will also give
you a chance to drive along Auckland's waterfront and perhaps
(depending on the weather) have a dip in the Ocean. See
http://www.aucklandnz.com/ for more information on Auckland.

I would recommend hiring a car for getting around public transport is
interesting at best though bear in mind Auckland traffic is incredibly
busy in rush hour because of this.

If you are interested in Maori culture and don't mind a bit of
'touristification' then a visit to Rotorua is worth while. You can
drive from Auckland to Rotorua around 240kms. Make sure you attend a
concert night with hangi(stone underground oven) dinner. Geological
wonders and huka falls are also scattered around the area and will
give tired legs a chance to stretch after the drive. See
http://www.rotoruanz.com/home.asp for more information on Rotorua.

I wouuld recommend driving on to Wellington and spending a night
soaking up the cafe culture and cap it with a visit to Te Papa
(http://www.tepapa.govt.nz/TePapa/) - the national museum - which is
great for kids. For info on Wellington see
http://www.tepapa.govt.nz/TePapa/

You could catch a ferry accross to Picton then drive to Nelson
(http://www.nelsonnz.com/) for sunshine and beaches and fine food or
you could fly down to Christchurch or Dunedin then visit the sites
described by myoarin below.

It really all depends on whether you want stunning landscape, beaches
or more cultural attractions.

Hope some of this helps

Midwinter

thanks for the tips so far!

http://www.toiletmap.gov.au/
You want to know where to go in Australia?
This site shows all places ...
My apologies if you have no appreciation for this kind of information,
but the site is useful in other ways:
http://www.toiletmap.gov.au/plan.aspx
This is from using the Plan function for Sydney-Geelong (SW of
Melbourne) and gives distance and driving time. From the map you can
scroll down and get detailed driving directions with individual
distances and times (55m 1min, downtown), so the total time is quite
accurate.  This function includes starting from and going to
individual addresses with detailed driving instructions.

The site is principally a service to the elderly, hence the detail and
time precision, but it could be a help to you to get a realistic idea
of distances and times.  I guess that the lat./long. function is for
people starting a trip from a point not on the map's address list.
ANd if you plan a route and eliminate all but the unisex toilets, the
description of the route shortens to a useful tool for the
navigator/trix.

It is really a charming site,  and a nice excuse to add another
comment in the hope that a couple of Aussies or NZers will do so.

Here is the site of the Australian Surf Life Saving Assoc.:
http://www.slsa.asn.au/doc_display.asp?document_id=36 
You probably will want to spend a day at the beach and it would add to
the experience you could arrange to do it somewhere where there was a
local Surf Life Saving competition.
THis page of the site tells you where you can contact NSW and
Victorian state associations and ask dates and locations of local or
regional competions:
http://www.slsa.asn.au/doc_display.asp?document_id=255 

So, all you Antepodeians, where is your local pride?!

Michael, just a note that December in Australia is HOT. When you
arrive, I'd suggest taking it easy for 1-2 days just to get
acclimatised - don't do anything too stressful!

I would suggest spending a few days in Sydney seeing the sights (Opera
House, Harbour Bridge, Taronga Zoo - definitely a zoo for the kids)
and a few days in Cairns. From Cairns, you can take a trip to the
outer Barrier Reef (an absolute must - even if you can't swim, you can
take underwater viewing trips), and also into the rainforest (the
Kuranda Skyrail and trips to Port Douglas all offer great scenery. I'd
recommend booking both the reef and rainforest trips before you go as
they are really popular.

If you're staying in or near Port Douglas, I can recommend something a
little different for you: Breakfast with the Birds at the Rainforest
Habitat. You get a lovely tropical buffet breakfast surrounded by the
cacophony of a lot of really spectacular birds.

Also, if you're looking for flights within Australia and to New
Zealand (you could probably save some money on what the travel agent
is offering), the two main budget airlines are Virgin Blue and
JetStar.

Here are some websites about what I've mentioned:
Outer Barrier Reef
Quicksilver Cruises: http://www.quicksilver-cruises.com/outer_reef/index.php
Sunlover Cruises: http://www.sunlover.com.au/tours.php
Great Adventures: http://www.greatadventures.com.au/Default.aspx?tabid=35

Rainforest
Kuranda Skyrail: http://www.skyrail.com.au/
Rainforest/Daintree Tours: http://www.destinationcairns.com.au/tc_rainforest.html
Rainforest Habitat: http://www.rainforesthabitat.com.au/attractions.html

Airlines
Virgin Blue: http://www.virginblue.com.au
JetStar: http://www.jetstar.com.au/