Austraila and New Zealand...RS type guides??

Since you have at least a year to plan, head to your local library to check out a few different guides to determine which ones you may actually want to purchase. I bought a number to use in pre-trip planning but only packed along "Rough Guide" series on each country as I felt like they were the most comprehensive for the long term travel I was going to take in both Australia & NZ. Would help if you provided some additional detail like exactly what month(s) you will be visiting (their seasons run opposite ours), how long you actually have to travel . Distances are vast in OZ. In NZ it's more compact but lots to cover & roads are narrow, winding & in some mountainous part during winter can be unexpectedly blocked. Read your library guidebooks and come up with some detailed questions to post on a board. TripAdvisor, Fodors and Lonely Planet's Thorntree forums are all good places to ask further questions. Take a look at some travel show episodes (many on YouTube, Hulu or Netflix) on both countries. I liked the Globe Trekker episodes on both (your teen may be interested to see a younger Bradley Cooper before he was famous hosting one of the NZ shows), Anthony Boudain did some great episodes of "No Reservations", and Richard Bangs' Adventures with Purpose had a nice episode on NZ.

I don't have specific suggestions for guidebooks, except to say that Lonely Planet is based in Australia, so their guidebooks tend to be very local and detailed. Remember that while we think of the two countries as close together, it's a 3 hour flight between Sydney and Auckland. Each country has lots to see over a spread-out area, so unless you're spending 3-4 weeks, you really can only see one of the countries (or just hit a few places in each). You'll probably be taking at least one flight within Australia; research the latest deals on flight passes, as these can save a bundle. I haven't been to New Zealand (I only had 18 nights, and rushed around the eastern half of Australia in that time, flying between cities). But everyone who has been to both emphasizes how different they are.

Lonely Planet would be a good guide for both Oz and NZ. Once you leave the cities, you will be well and truly 'off the beaten path' in next to no time! Google is a useful to check out both countries. Enter the names of States, towns and cities. Trip Advisor is a good tool for accommodation. Fellow forumers, Ed, a frequent visitor to Oz and Randy will also be able to give you some good advice. If there is anything I can help you with, please send me a private message.

We take a 3 month trip to NZ, with a stopover in OZ, every three years. The Rough Guide to NZ is the guidebook that has proved most useful over the years. For accom pick up the free comprehensive guides provided by the AA and Jasons. You will find them in tourist info and most car hire offices in NZ. I believe you can also order them on-line but the postage may be rather high as they are heavy books! http://www.aatravel.co.nz/main/index.php http://www.jasons.co.nz/

Thank you for all the excellent advice on where to start. Without RS's guide to lead me, I am really open to suggestions. We will have 3-4 weeks and want to split them between the two countries. We will likely stick to the eastern side of Australia (Sydney and Melbourne, etc) although we have heard good things about renting a captained boat in the Whitsunday Islands. Plan to skip Ayers Rock on the advice of some Aussies we met in Germany. Kids want to see koalas and kangaroos. Hubbie will want to hike (but will need to entice his 3 female non-hikers to go along). Plan to go in June which I know is winter, maybe late May...will depend on high school and college schecules. Thanks for accepting my non-Europe post!! Kaye
Folsom, CA

Kaye, I wish I had done this before our trip to Au & Nz. Since I didn't, all I could do was Google subjects. One avenue I used was You Tube. I found this useful for researching Queenstown Nz. We just returned from 4 nights in Sydney and 10 days in Queenstown Nz and the surrounding area. First thing to plan & check is when the Australian school system is on holiday. We were unaware that we took our vacation the same time as they did. We were time constrained so we didn't didn't have much choice in the matter. Also plan on Au & Nz being very expensive, more so than Europe or Hawaii. There are apps for apple products that may be helpful so look at that also. The weather in Queenstown in July is around 32-40 during the day. However, it seemed colder than the same temperature here in Michigan. Sydney was 50 - 65 so I was very comfortable there. For airlines check out Air New Zealand. We booked through Virgin Australia for our flight from Sydney to Queenstown & they jobbed it out to Air New Zealand going and coming back we were on a plane emblazened with flycheap.com that had Virgin Australia cards in the seat backs. Air New Zealand was much nicer. If renting in the south island of NZ make sure you get a 4 wheel drive vehicle with chains. We didn't need the chains but they are required in the hilly/mountainous areas of the south island should it snow.
PM if you have any other questions.

If you send me a PM, I'll be happy to help. We were there for six weeks in (our) summer, 2011, and we tried to follow a Rick Steves-esque sort of itinerary. PS; Au & NZ are not particularly expensive once you are there. In fact, NZ is quite economical in some respects (better exchange rate). You should consider Youth Hostels as they are plentiful. Your kids will love them. No, they are not party palaces. Just places for people just like you to stay for $25-$35 per person per night. Plus, they all have kitchens. You can save lots of money doing a little cooking. Eating out all the time gets old fast. We were in NZ around Queenstown in mid-June and did not need chains. While it could snow in June, it's unlikely. Highs in the 50's, lows in the 30's (F). Ayers Rock, itself, is a bit over-hyped and touristy. But the outback as a whole is fantastic, and June is the PERFECT time to see it - not too hot. The outback was my favorite part of our trip. We saw Ayers Rock, the "Olgas", Kings Canyon and the McDonnell Ranges around Alice Springs. We also stayed at a farm-stay about 250 miles west of Brisbane (near outback) that was wonderful.