I am a first time traveler to Australia and I will be bringing my 9 yr old daughter with me. I am looking for a nice place to stay (reasonable of course, since I am a single parent) and the things to see. Is April a good time to go, or not?

April in Australia is usually a beautiful time of year. Its not too hot and not too cold - depending on where you want to go. You should definitely visit Sydney and then either down to Melbourne or up to Queensland (Gold coast, etc). . From a travellers point of view, most people usually go to Sydney and then the Gold Coast especially if you've got your daughter with you. You should probably aim to spend a week in Sydney and a week in the Gold Coast. In Queensland your daughter would no doubt love Dreamworld, Movieworld and Seaworld (our smaller versions of Disneyland). . You can get a bus to and from these places from the Brisbane airport.

In Sydney there's the Opera House/Circular Quay, Bridgeclimb (which is brilliant but quite pricey - you could enquire at the hotel desk), Darling Harbour (shops, cafe's, IMAX theatre, Sydney Aquarium), catch a ferry from the Quay over to the Zoo for the day and theres heaps and heaps of shopping for the two of you to do in the city. Its a truly beautiful city.

Have fun,
Nicky
Melbourne, Oz

Also, for good hotel rates have a look on the internet. Type in Sydney/Brisbane + hotels and you will get cheap deals. A good location in Sydney is Darling Harbour as it has great access to everything. Have a look at rates at the Ibis here as its one of the cheapest but nicest.

Nicky