We will be visiting New Zealand and Australia from the States in January. We are a family of five, all 21+, with one in a power wheelchair. The majority of our trip will be spent in NZ but coming all this way, we really want to see Australia while we're there.
I am having a difficult time deciding on an itinerary and narrowing it down to 2 areas (one flight within the country). I guess we're trying to decide between Sydney, Melbourne, Great Barrier Reef, Tasmania.
We really enjoy beautiful scenery, scenic drives, unique experiences, charming towns, good food, and a little shopping (unique/trendy/urban, not souvenir shops).
Some thoughts...
-How do we visit Australia without visiting Sydney? Is that sacrilegious?
-We don't love huge cities so maybe just 2 nights in Sydney?
-One of our priorities is to experience quintessential Australia (i.e. indigenous wildlife, no zoos, etc)...what are our options for this?
-If we go to Melbourne, we'd probably like to split the stay with a couple days driving the Great Ocean Road. For anyone who has driven both the GOR and PCH in California, how do they compare?
-I've heard Tasmania is beautiful but just coming from the South Island, will it compare?
-The Great Barrier Reef is iconic...we could stay in Cairns/Port Douglas and also do the rainforests but heard the weather is terrible this time of year?? There's nothing worse than hot and humid weather.
We also need to take into account wheelchair accessibility in these areas, and what experience we could get the most out of.
I'd love to get your input on the matter. 
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With only seven or eight days, that limits the places you can visit easily. I'd suggest three nights in Sydney which will give you two days sightseeing. Then fly to Melbourne and spend the remainder of your time in Victoria. Have a couple of nights in Melbourne, hire a vehicle and drive along the Great Ocean Road. Stop off at the Anglesea golf course (always a good chance of seeing kangaroos there), drive as far west as Port Fairy (visit Tower Hill park for more chances of seeing wildlife). From Port Fairy, head to the Grampians National Park (spectacular scenery and more wildlife) and possibly overnight in Ballarat. From Ballarat you can drive directly to the airport for your flight home.
And yes, the Great Ocean Road is as good as the road along the coast in California.
January is wet season in Far North Queensland so a visit to the Great Barrier Reef could be wet and very humid.
I'll point out that January is peak summer school holiday season so accommodation will need to be booked in advance, particularly with a party of five people.
Before we went to TAS for the first time, we'd also heard people say that it was similar to NZ.
It's not. Sure, they both have narrow winding roads, plentiful forests, sheep and beautiful coastal scenery.
But beyond that, they're like apples and oranges.
TAS has spectacular wildlife, fabulous fresh produce and some not-so-nice things like venomous snakes, leeches and creepy spiders. That's not to deter you, just to let you know that you can't tromp around without paying attention as you can in NZ.
TAS (and OZ in general) has incredible bird life - yes, NZ has birds, but nothing like what you'll see and hear in AUS.
TAS is drier, the trees are different, the landscape different, the people different.
They're both wonderful places to visit. But don't make the first timers mistake of thinking you can see TAS in a few days. As with NZ, the more time you can spend there, the better.
Marg has a good plan for you.
It is a pity to miss Sydney - I think it's a beautiful place with history, charm and character. We did the GOR years ago and it was a lovely trip.
It will be boilingly hot up in Cairns and the GBR. Trust me on this one. We cannot cope with Brisbane in January.
I have not been to Tasmania but Mel has given a good comparison. We have rather boring wildlife compared with Australia! Maybe apart from our tuatara who is a unique specimen.
Don't write off the zoos in Australia - they are very good and I can recommend Australia Zoo but that is in Queensland. Otherwise you may spend lots of time and energy looking for animals in their natural environment. Australia is a big place! We saw a koala in a tree in Cleveland, Brisbane on one trip and that was a highlight for our kids.
<<<If we go to Melbourne, we'd probably like to split the stay with a couple days driving the Great Ocean Road. For anyone who has driven both the GOR and PCH in California, how do they compare?>>
Never driven the PCH, but I can say with complete confidence that the PCH does not have koalas or wallabies.
You will see both (and more) on the GOR.
And yes, it will be plenty hot.