Australia and New Zealand travel this summer?

I will be spending some time in Australia and NZ this summer... Not sure how long yet but what are the best places to visit? **must see** as I am going to have a limited amount of travel time, minimum of 15 days maximum of a month, dont know which it will be yet. Im going by myself and am 22 so it'd be nice to meet some other people, also I'd like to stay safe...Reccomendations?
Oops I meant USA's summer their Winter.

Far north Queensland is by far the most beautiful place on earth, but in summer it gets extremely hot. I mean EXTREMELY, so if you're not used to heat, then maybe you should go somewhere else.

I guess it mostly depends on what kind of holiday you are looking for. Do you want somewhere very natural, or are you looking for a great party scene?

Don't go (or if you do, don't waste too much time) in Surfer's Paradise (on the Gold coast) or Cairns (North Queensland), because both places are pretty much just souvenir shop after souvenir shop and they're all run by chinese people. But Cairns is a good starting point for discovering Far North Queensland.

If you're into tropical things, there are HEAPS of beautiful islands to go to.

If you are coming in our winter, then I suggest you visit places in the North, such as Cairns, Port Douglas, Cook Town etc.

Winter is miserable in Melbourne, but magnificent up North...

If you liek skiiing there is a bit in New Zealand...both in the North Island and South Island.

It depends on what kinds of things you would like to see...ie people..then the North Island and cities such as Auckland or if you want scenery then the South Island.
There are buses like the atomic shuttles, Kiwi experience and the backpacker bus (links below) which could allow you to meet people travelling around.
There is some amazing scenery in the South Island eg Milford Sound, West Coast, Mt Cook National Park nd of course Queenstown. I will also put a couple of tourism links to help with that.

Accommodation should be better and cheaper (probably not around the skiing areas tho) in the winter (and weather a bit colder in the South too), but in other places it will be ok. Backpackers/ and youth hostels are the cheapest kind of accommodation and are usually pretty good.

Often the main places people visit in a really quick tour are Auckland, Rotorua, Christchurch and Queenstown. I guess these are the main tuorist destinations and give you 2 populated places and 2 tourist/scenery places. If you are limited, thats probably the way to go. I have also put the link for the local airlines if you want to fly.

Enjoy!!!

Have you checked out Contiki? Look at their website at www.contiki.com . For someone who is 22 and looking to see as much as possible in NZ and Australia, it sounds like the perfect option. I'm taking a two week NZ trip myself with Contiki this summer! I'm so excited! I don't know a whole lot about New Zealand myself so will be glad to let the tour manager bring me around and let me enjoy everything! I'm especially looking forward to some bungee jumping. With Contiki, you'll meet 35-40 other people all your age ready to have an awesome time and stay safe as well. If you are considering a trip with them, let me know and I'll get you a $100 voucher for an optional excursion like skydiving or rafting. Send me an email at kbroder86@yahoo . Talk to you soon! Have a great trip!

-Kathryn