Flights
Picked up nice and cheap from Flight Centre, who operate in the UK, Canada, Oz and NZ. STA and Usit are good if you're under 26 too, and TNT has really good deals in the massive ad section.

Travel Insurance
After scouring assorted websites, we picked Down Under Insurance - even the name sounded appropriate - though Insure n Go was a close second.

Backpack
Um, I was going to go for Karrimor but the Kiwi half managed to convert me to Macpac. 65L of space plus a 5L zip-off daysack, but no little Union Jack for me...

Accommodation
Friends on the ground in Sydney are sorting out the first few days there, but for stopovers I made use of Hostels.com and Hostelworld.com, plus the wondrous search engine known as Google.

Random items
Other stuff coming along for the ride includes a first aid kit, Swiss Army knife, tiny-packing quick-drying towel-like thing, bumbag-cum-handbag, and a lucky stone given to me by a lovely friend. TNT has a good list of things to pack if anyone needs ideas.

Boots
Sadly I have no boots at present - unless you count the high-heeled black things I wear to work when in a foot-torturing mood. Until further notice I have turned to my trusty flipflops! Rob, on the other hand, has some extremely solid steel-cap boots that make security gates bleep :)

Inquiries or feedback, contact: sophiesmailbox@yahoo.com