My girlfriend and I are college students from the US and are going to
study abroad at the University of Queensland in about three weeks. We
will be there for 5 months and I'm looking for some fun trips and
romantic ideas.

Already I saw a google answers entry on what to do in Melbourne and it
gave me some good ideas about the plane trip there (things like
champagne etc on the plane...see
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=175983) but the rest
was pretty specific to Melbourne. I'm looking for an answer alot like
that, but specific to Brisbane (also keep in mind that I have alot
more time). We're both into adventure stuff (kayaking, rock climbing,
NOT 4WD'ing) as well as simply lounging on the beach and
phototography.

There is a second part as well: We have 12 days at the end of the
semester (from about Nov 20- Dec 5) to travel around. We were looking
at going to Vanuatu or Fiji, but are there other places we should
consider? New Caledonia? Solomon Islands? Other places in Australia
(she likes rainforest)? Our budget for that is ~$1000 USD for 2 people
for 5 nights (more if we can) including transport (plane etc). I saw
some package deals from Virgin Blue, but I want more options, even if
I have to coordinate it myself.

Thank you for all of your help!

PS Time is not a huge issue, but I would like an answer by June 21st
or 22nd (today is 6/14/05)