Originally Posted by
MSPeconomist
You could easily spend two weeks on the eastern coast of Australia and skip NZ: Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef, Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne. There are great aquariums, zoos, and wildlife preserves. Add the Gold Coast and/or Sunshine Coast, although they seem to be just a bit harder to get to if you want mainline jet planes without propellers IME.
Note that Gold Coast is essentially a suburb of Brisbane and is easily reachable from there by car or suburban train (including a train service direct from Brisbane Airport) if you have trouble finding flights to get there directly. Sunshine Coast is also driveable from Brisbane but a bit farther away.