want to see Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane- we have from Jan 24 to Feb 3
suggestions on driving or flying or both?
will be in New Zealand from the 3rd to the 10th-
what are must sees?

bz - you've got two threads going simultaneously - why not pick one and ask the mods to remove the other?

just press the yellow triangle and send them a message.

<what are must sees?>

Surely, you jest.

Which island in NZ? What are your particular interests? What made you decide to visit there in the first place?

Help us and we can help you.

Melnq8- our son is in Austalia-he'll be ther for a few months- he's traveling the world- cooking... this seemed like a fabulous place to meet him-
our time frame now seems to be landing in Melbourne on Jan 31 and leaving New Zealand Feb 17
We are planning Melbourne to Brisbane (flying)
Brsbane to Syndey(driving)
Sydney to NZ-NI
then home from NZ....
interests are everything...how people live, markets, bridges,nature, water and land exploration- all on a pretty tight budget.....

So North Island only, for how many days?

hi again, bz - good idea I think to limit yourselves to the NI, where there is still loads to see; we just wished we'd given ourselves more time there.

The highlights of our brief tour of the NI - the Coromandel peninsular [about a two hour drive from auckland airport] - the drive from there to Napier, Napier itself, and the trip out to see the Gannets on the cliffs near Napier.

We didn't go to Rotorua so we can't help you with how long to spend there, but I do remember that there was a thread about free things to do there, which might interest you.

http://www.fodors.com/community/aust...a-502930-2.cfm

and another:

http://www.fodors.com/community/aust...r-thoughts.cfm

[there may be an overlap but I'll leave it to you to decide which to read]

I cant thank you all enough for all your input!!!!we would love to include the outback and maybe a sheep ranch on our journey- any thoughts on something not too touristy?

As I see it you are a long way from "the outback" in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne . What specifically did you want to see in the outback? What did you want to do on a sheep farm? You could do a day trip to one out of Melbourne.