Allow yourself a minimum of 2 nights of hotels on the Great Ocean Road and you'll be fine. We made the big mistake of doing it in two days and one night, so it became very unpleasant at times. Three driving days and 2 nights lodging will allow you time to enjoy the sites along the way - Blue Lake, 12 Epostles, etc. The road winds and turns and is often slippery. You'll be driving on the left side of the road and there are often no guardrails. Go slow!

Where in Tassie are you going? Hobart is nice. Don't miss the Prison site which is about an hour's drive from Hobart. Have you considered going north to the Daintree National Forest (fly to Cairns and easy drive north) instead of Tassie? I like both places, but think the rainforest is more fun. BTW, Tassie will be cold, bring wool sweaters for layering. In any case, I'd shave a day off of Tassie and add it onto Melbourne. During your stay in Melbourne, don't miss doing a daytrip to Phillips Island to see the fairy penguins. You can do this by organized tour, it's an all day trip and you won't get back to your hotel until midnight because the penguins only come out at night.

I've been to both Sydney and Mebourne about 4 times and love them, but like Melbourne a little better. It's a more cultural city. Don't let people tell you you're making a mistake. You'll be back......visit Sydney next time. :-)

Australia has some of the most exciting food in the world - the new young chef's are taking the culinary world by storm. Don't cheap out and skip the best restaurants - though the the favorable USDOllar to the AussieDollar ratio, it'll be very reasonably priced.

Enjoy!

Candice NYC