Darwin or Kangaroo Island
 

My fiance cannot decide on which to go to for our October honeymoon. If we go to Kangaroo Island, we would also try to go to Flinders Ranges and then do the GOR to Melbourne making stops for 2 nights.

If we go to Darwin then we may try to add on Lizard Island for a few nights to our Port Douglas stay.

Which would give us a more diversified experience. This is our first (and probably only) trip to Oz?

It depends on what your priorities are. I understand that KI is great for viewing animals. The Flinders is great outback scenery, and the GOR is cool rocks galore. Darwin is great for seeing the Top End and Aboriginal art sites (as well as the wetlands animals, esp. crocodiles), Lizard Island snorkeling is heaven on earth. FWIW, every time we look at adding the south end to our itinerary, we look at what's available to do in Far North Queensland (lots of animals, outback and cool rocks there, too!) and opt for it (but we are admitted snorkeling fanatics.) It all boils down to what you want. Hard, I know, we want to do and see it all, too.
Sally in Seattle

Darwin and Lizard Island or Port Douglas hands down by a country mile!
There are lots of different animals in Darwin and Far North Queensland has the most animals in Australia.
The area around Darwin is World Heritage listed and so are some areas around North Queensland and they are listed for a very good reasons.

Agree absolutely with LizzyF.

If you will never come here again then Kakadu, Litchfield, Darwin are 8 out of ten compared to about 5 for KI and the GOR.

I really don't understand why the GOR is on so many people's lists. It is a great journey - but it has to be a journey - if you just drive it in the least possible time then it slips from being a "nice to see" to being a "don't bother".

KI attracts, I guess, because of the name. There is no way I would put in on my list for a first time/only time visit unless you have three months.

chimini has hit the nail right on the head re: Kangaroo Island. I guess if we re-named Cairns region , ANAC "The Australian Native Animal Capital" then the whole issue would be put in perspective.

On the other hand, I would vote for Kangaroo Island and GOR, which I did 1.5 years ago. You can get up close and personal with lots of animals on Kangaroo Island and the drive along the GOR is breathtaking. The small towns along the GOR are really neat - a step back in time. A few years ago, I spent only 3 days in Darwin, which I really didn't care for. Kakadu was very special, though.
Martha

Hi there. In my humble opinion I would choose a honeymoon in Darwin/Qld over KI and Flinders Ranges without hesitation. Darwin, not much there but surrounding parks are fantastic. Perhaps fly to Cairns in Queensland, take rainforest cablecar www.skyrail.com.au, or the picturesque Kuranda railway www.kuranda.org. Also Great Barrier Reef trips are excellent from Cairns - amazing fishing, coral viewing etc. Then maybe drive about 1 hour further north to Pt Douglas - fabulous scenery. Maybe venture even further north to the Daintree (national park)if time permits. And Lizard, altho I havent been there is very popular with overseas visitors (lots of celebs go there apparently). KI and Flinders (especially Wilpena Pound) while beautiful wouldn't sustain me on my honeymoon - not much to do other than sightsee and lots of land to cover. The drive from Adelaide to the Flinders is boring and can look a bit desolate in my opinion. Depends what you like I guess - my brother LOVES the starkness of the outback, me I prefer coastal/rainforest areas. KI/Flinders is the opposite end of the scale to the rainforest in Qld. GOR is magnificent but takes longer than many people think and can get a wee bit monotonous. Having said that tho my 19yo German exchange student was rapt to see koalas in trees on the roadside as we drove GOR and an echidna waddling across the road further inland. But even for an Aussie it wasn't a guaranteed sighting! I reckon you would have a perfect honeymoon in NT/QLD - lots to see and do, and not miles of "nothingness" in between. And I reckon you'd still see plenty of wildlife (kangas etc) (I do love the Flinders but would want to see and do more on my honeymoon).
Hope your wedding and trip are brilliant.
Cheers