Expert: Don Boddie - 1/4/2009

Question
Hi Don,
My husband Don and I are planning a trip to Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand possibly in the fall (Oct. to Dec.) 2009.    We are from British Columbia, Canada and are middle aged, Don has a sister that recently moved to Hobart, so of course we would like to visit her for a few days.  I also have distant relatives in Christchurch.  I have met my "Aunt" once briefly when she had a stop over in Vancouver BC in the early 1970's snd have never met my "cousins". But since we will be in their part of the world, I would like to meet them.  
Our interestes?  We love to visit winerys and we know that there are some very good ones!  We also like to photograph spectacular scenery, mountains, caves, whales, other wildlife, beaches,stc.  
We would like to have our own agenda for the most part, but an occasional organized tour or two would be ok with us.  
Our questions? What are must see attractions?  How long would we need to satisfy our expectations, 2,3 or 4 weeks, more??  Will it be easy enough at that time of year to find accomadations without prebooking? (hotels, motels, B&B's are good,  if you can direct us to a directory of such, would be appreciated) What city is the best to fly in and out from? Sydney? Christchurch? Hobart? other?  Is it hard to get used to driving on the "other" side of the road?  We would love to hear any hints or suggestions you have!
Gail & Don

Answer
Hi Gail & Don,
              Your question requires some research and some time to check the best web references so I will answer your questions in a couple of days.
I suspect you may be better to fly back to Melbourne from Hobart and catch a much cheaper trans Tasman flight into Christchurch.
I will give you local websites so you can check the flight prices and times.
A lot of the South Island is similar to parts of Canada, very mountainous with big lakes and rivers.
A good site to start you off is www.searchnz.co.nz which is the main NZ search engine.
www.bandb.co.nz is the main bed and breakfast site. We own a B & B www.killarahomestay.co.nz in Paekakariki on the North Island.
I will send more info soon.
Cheers,
Don Boddie