Sydney first, at the Kimpton – a few days to shake the time change, then New Year's Eve watching the fireworks over the bay from a rooftop. On to Adelaide for a friend's wedding: four nights in a house in Norwood, close to downtown, with days out to the Barossa, the Adelaide Hills, a wildlife reserve and the city's beaches – big, and nothing like Manly or Bondi.
Then Christchurch, and a week's road trip down the South Island to Queenstown – hiking, swimming, kayaking, a different town most nights. The one routing note: fly in and out of Queenstown instead. Christchurch adds distance the week doesn't need.
From Queenstown, two of us split off for Melbourne and four nights at the Australian Open – matches by day, the city in between, then home to New York. The day trip worth protecting: the penguin parade at Phillip Island.
