Looking at heading out to Australia and New Zealand in November/December 2014.

Is there any recommendation on hotels, restaurants, attractions, things to do and see in Sydney and Auckland that is unique to local?

Where is the best area of town to stay?

We are flying into Sydney, stay for a bit and take a boat to New Zealand, ending our trip in Auckland and fly home from Auckland.

Any suggestions and recommendation are appreciated.

What are your interests? What is your budget? What are you looking for? It would be helpful to know a bit more in order for us to point you in the right direction. I just came back from a trip that included both Sydney and Auckland same time last year; click on my name or search in the Asia forum for my trip report for some info.

To get you started, perhaps look at the free guides to these two cities on this site:

Auckland http://www.fodors.com/world/australi...land/auckland/

Sydney http://www.fodors.com/world/australi...-wales/sydney/

It honestly depends how long you're going to stay and - as others have said - your budget.

There's a pretty exhaustive list for both at Experience Oz + NZ who specialise in these regions only (however not a good place for stuff outside these two countries if you're continuing on to somewhere else)

Sydney section on here has Top 10 Must Do, recommended itineraries, where to stay, blah blah: http://www.experienceoz.com.au/travel-advice

Also: http://www.experienceoz.com.au/sydney-city-guide

and there's an Auckland one too: http://www.experienceoz.com.au/auckland-city-guide

will require a bit of reading and there's a lot of walls of text but covers pretty much every question you asked, cheers

The above websites have good info.

In Sydney I enjoyed staying in Wooloomooloo, a suburb between the CBD and Kings Cross. It's a pleasant walk to the city via the Art Gallery of NSW and beautiful gardens.

The Finger Wharf in Wooloomooloo is about 100 years old and has been rejuvenated to house many restaurants and coffee shops
The Cross is seedy nightlife capital of Australia, if you like gritty you will find it there.

Getting out on the harbour is a must do. The public ferry to Manly offers spectacular views. Taronga Park Zoo is on the harbour (animals with a view) and also has a public ferry service.

I can make some suggestions for Melbourne, how long is your time there ?

How long do you have in Sydney and Auckland ?

The Rocks market. Lots of locally made trinkets, souveniers and cool stuff.