East Coast 2wks in Dec?

We arrive in Sydney on 15th Dec and want to get a good east coast experience without taking on too much. We want to be back in Sydney to meet friends for new year so we have 15days max. We were thinkin of flyin straight to Cairns and working our way down the coast(or vice versa), either renting a van or going by bus. We would like a good mix and would like somewhere nice to spend Christmas, so any advice would be appreciated. I realise that we would probably have to miss out some stretches of coast and take internal flights, but am just not sure which are best left unseen. Please advise.

[ Edit: Edited on Oct 21, 2008, at 1:43 PM by OC75 ]

It's a good idea to fly to Cairns as you'll certainly want to do the GBR. Distances are huge, so one way would probably take a week just driving. That said, renting a van would be good fun and it's easy to move on every couple of days, stopping where you like.
As for what to see, it depends on your taste. Noosa is a great spot, but maybe not for night life. Airlie Beach is lively, as is Surfers Paradise and the Gold Coast.
Have you got time to see Sydney after New Year or will you need to get back early?

Thanks, yes we will have another 8 or 9 days to do sydney and melbourne. We will fly to melbourne around the 4th Jan.

Where would be good for Christmas day considering that we should be halfway along the coast by that stage.

I don't want to party all the time, so some nice scenic places to chill would be good too.