Went through some of the posts here and am none the wiser!

Planning a trip in June/July with kids aged 4 and 8 for about 2 weeks. Have been a few times before but in the "summer" of down under (Dec/Jan) to Sydney, driven up to the Gold Coast, done Cairns/PD/Great Barrier Reef as well. Now, am looking to enjoy cool/cold weather, hopefully avoid rain as much as possible, snow access is welcome. Basically, a holiday to relax with the kids and do "fun" stuff (camping, riding, fishing and the like) with them - am thinking of the Red Center, Melbourne and surrounds. Would Tasmania be an option? Any suggestions more than welcome. Thanks in advance.

Mid-year is the best time to do the northern parts, as it is temperate, fine, with low humidity and no mosquitoes. The only downside is the amount of water in the waterfalls reduces as the dry season continues. There's still some left in June though. Kakadu, Bungle Bungles, Litchfield are all worth a visit. The best time to visit the centre is probably about May or September. Daytime temperatures are pleasant in June and July, and conditions are great for walking around Uluru and Kata Juta, but if you're camping you might find the nights cold (around 5 degrees C). Tasmania would be very chilly midyear. I've only ever visited in December-January.

Since you want cool/cold weather, I'd recommend a visit to Canberra. We lived there for several years and found it to be a fun place with our kids. The weather is good there in winter--cool days with clear skies. (I don't know where you are coming from, but we are from the East Coast of the U.S. and we found the winter climate very mild in Canberra.) Some places they would enjoy would be the miniature village at Cockington Green, the National Zoo and Aquarium and the National Musuem. But the best place for kids (and adults too) is Questacon, the hands-on science museum. For animals and other outdoor activities, I'd recommend going to Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve and Namadgi National Park. At Namadgi NP, you can go on the Yankee Hat hike (an easy 6km hike, round trip) and see hundreds of kangaroos on the trail. (Won't the kids love that!) At the turnaround point is a rock with Aboriginal rock drawings that the 8-year-old would appreciate. (There's a guide there to what the pictures represent, but your 8-year-old could try to guess.) See www.visitcanberra.com.au and www.canberrakids.com.au for more ideas/info.
For snow, you can do a day trip to Selwyn Snowfields. It's a very family-friendly place. Your kids could enroll in ski school if they don't ski or you could do lots of non-skiing activities like snow tubing or sledding. (Check to see if chains are required before you go. If they are, you can rent them in Canberra.) If you want to spend several days in the snow, then you might want to go to someplace like Thredbo.

You might also consider Jenolan Caves in the Blue Mountains outside of Sydney. They take you on tours of the caves and they are very cool (literally as well as slangily). We were there in July of 2004 and enjoyed it immensely. We also drove a few miles out of the Caves area to Kanangra Walls for a very unique hike (but only saw one wallaby on the drive back). You could see Sydney and the sights there, go to the Blue Mountains, then head to the ACT for a nice vacation. If you want to go farther afield, Uluru in July was very nice weatherwise, quite cold at night (and we had cloud cover so we didnt' get to see the stars). You won't get snow there, I don't believe. Your kids are so lucky to be travelling to Oz at such a young age--what a great gift to give them!
Sally in Seattle aka SnR and SnRSeattle

As the snow season will be underway you might be interested in Mt. Buller or Falls Creek. If the kids have not experienced snow before it would be great fun for them. Mt.Buller is about 3 hours drive from Melbourne and Falls Creek a bit further. www.mtbuller.com.au or www.fallscreek.com.au

Thanks a lot for the pointers. Will research along those lines and revert... I was previously a bit unsure about Canberra (apologies for stereotyping) but may be that will work! My older one for the longest time thought Sydney was Australia's capital!! I personally am quite keen on Uluru. Look forward to finding out more...