Congrats on getting the Free trip Lemon butt

if you are genuinely thinking of Australia the best thing to do is Head to do an Great Aussie road Trip
http://www. Australia.com/RoadTrip_17.asp
Please no matter what you do aviod the Tourist Trap of Sydney, its Expensive as all hell, i.e a 4 mile cab ride from the Airport to centre of the City somehow costs $50 AUD roughly $55 USD now and petrol/Unleaeded 91/Gas costs $5.64 a gallon etc you come to Australia to Escape from the world not see city full of breakdowns,
i would suggest a trip past the outback to Western Australia,
http://www.westernaustralia.com/au/Pages/Welcome_to_Western_Australia.aspx its got everything , 8000 miles of pristine ,near untouched white beaches , Abundant Coral Reefs , Long open Roads and if you head for north to the Kimberly and Broome Tropical Rainforests unlike anything else on Earth, and if Great Ocean drive is not what your looking for why not visit some of the many excellent wineries around the Margret river a drive and enjoy the Mediterranean climate that south west Corner offers
Come during your Fall or Spring since There is no point coming downunder in the Summer unless you are a pasty Pom looking for a tan ( everything full overpriced, overcrowded and Airports are Full to Capacity) and the weather is still warm and comfortable in the off peak seasons
( hi everyone from the Uk ^_^ )
and since this is Airwaysim DO NOT USE A US AIRLINE to transpacific , from the words of Walletpop "When it comes to flying Down Under, I strongly advise you pick an Australian-flagged carrier. They're used to shuttling people across vast oceans, and their in-cabin services are more comfortable than most American carriers'. They simply know how to do it better." and from what everyone says it so true, dont DELTA, UNITED Hawaiian this trip Book Qantas for the A380 from LA to SYD and grab the A330 to Perth and you will have a world class trip even in Economy (Screenback IFE on all seats inc Economy) and Qantas codeshares with Delta so ATL to Lax would be included in the fare, Though i expect a lecture from all Australians how Qantas Standards are slipping fast (still better than most US carriers , just feeling competitions of a lot of Mid East and NEw entrants to International routes) though since its all expense paid Try the A380 biz class, and you'll see why everyone around the world cringes air Travel in the US
Hope you found this Useful Lemonbutt and if you do come to OZ i'll throw a lobster on the Barbie for you
p.s try some Proper Australian Beer and keep that p***weisser at home