I'd say come east up this way - go the back way through Dubbo, Tamworth etc and then up to Cairns... But that would only be good in summer..

You never want to come this way in winter - precisley when you want to travel - In Uralla/Armidale we often hit -10 overnight and then the next day it can be as low as 3 degrees (when you factor in wind chill and rain...)

I wouldn't call that a holiday I do it everyday during winter, and I can't wait to go to the coast!! haha