travelling Australia?

I'm planning a trip to oz next July and want to know of places and things to see. I already plan to go to to sydney and the barrier reef but don't know whether to go to melbourne and perth, also where the best place to surf is?

Hi Im Aussie.
Melbourne is better than Perth for entertainment and things to do. perth is the best for surfing. Sydney is a must, and your doing that...
Queensland is good for surfing and also theme parks.
Have fun!

i wanna go to Australia so bad, i'm very jealous of you

Ningaloo reef north of Perth has more sea life per cubic metre of sea water than the Great Barrier Reef - stay at Exmouth YHA, very nice. It is also easy to swim out to it (you can walk/paddle most of the way, so it avoids the very expensive trips to visit the great barrier reef

The Gold and Sunshine Coast's are both in Queensland and have some of the best surf beaches in the country. Melbourne has more culture than Perth but Perth has some really good beaches and is more laid back and isn't full of Snob's.

Re: Melbourne and Perth, it really depends on the kind of vibe you are after..

Melbourne has a really distinct atmosphere - its full of amazing restaurants, funky art, great bars etc
Perth is a lot newer - it's only really started booming as a city in the last 5 - 10 years - there's a lot of new money there, to me it doesn't have such a deep culture as Melbourne - it's alot more laid back and 'Aussie'.

There's lots of cool things to do in both the cities though - wine tasting in perth, and Great Ocean Road Tours in Melbourne and so on, if you want to look for things to do check out this site http://www.godo.com.au

Given you are coming in July you need to also consider the weather - Melbourne will be cold! Perth stays pretty moderate and a lot more pleasant - there is good surfing in Margaret River... Surfing Australia has some good guides on where to go http://www.surfing-australia.com/

Hope you enjoy your time in Oz...