Hi Greg!
You'll absolutely love Australian skies! I can't give you any advice about things local to Surfers, but there's many QLD'ers that will jump in shortly i'm sure.
Make sure you plan a few all night sessions, so you get to see the best of the SMC and LMC as they rise up higher. If you're up at around 3am you can see Orion
upside down.
And of course straight after sunset when it's dark enough, you'll see the whole milky way spanning across the sky overhead.
You'll be blown away!
to IIS and I hope you enjoy your stay in Australia!