Pre-trip, the general forecast for October in the airport cities we were headed towards (according to the AccuWeather monthly forecast for each) were as follows:

Sydney - 70s (20-30C)
Cairns - mid 80s (30C)
Brisbane - upper 70s (25-30C)
Christchurch - around 60F (14-17C)
Auckland - lower 60s (16-20C)

Based on that information, we were not expecting it to be terribly cold anywhere, which helped lighten the clothing load.

Clothes
I do a lot of hiking, climbing, and backpacking, so I have some clothing items that are more lightweight than you might typically buy. For this trip, I'm mostly talking about my rain jacket (a measly 8oz/227g), puffy jacket (around 10oz or 283g), and running leggings.
  • 2 short sleeve shirts
  • 2 tank tops
  • 1 puffy jacket, 1 rain jacket (hardly used!)
  • 1 dress
  • 2 regular bras
  • 1 sports bra
  • 1 athletic short sleeve shirt
  • 1 running skirt
  • 1 pair running leggings
  • 1 pair jeans
  • 1 pair loose pants (for pyjamas or casual wear)
  • 1 swimsuit
  • 1 rash guard (it was great to have on the liveaboard)
  • 1 scarf
  • 1 pair earmuffs (band kind--I also use it as a eye cover when sleeping in bright places)
  • 1 hat
  • 7 pairs of underwear
  • 3 pairs of socks
Footwear
I wanted to limit myself to two pairs of shoes--so the question was, should I bring tennis shoes or boots? The boots would be great in New Zealand, but definitely too hot in Australia. I forewent the boots in favor of some lightweight running shoes by Merrell.

Toiletries
  • Travel soap, travel shampoo/conditioner
  • Face sunscreen (because my regular suncreen stings my eyes!)
  • Body sunscreen
  • Nail clipper, hair ties, chapstick, earplugs

Electronics
  • Samsung Galaxy S4 and charging cable
  • iPad and Anker keyboard (for getting work done)
  • GoPro Hero4, no extra battery, charging cable and filter set

Extras
  • XXL PackTowl (I love the huge one because you can use it as a blanket as well)
  • Roll-up ziplock bags for decompressing clothing (1 for dirty, 1 for clean)
  • Platypus bottles
  • Set (card game that I got a bunch of dive masters to play one night)