Any advice for my "Gap Year" in Australia next fall?

Instead of going to university next fall, i decided that I want to take a year off to travel and visit Australia for the first time for approx. 1-2 months. Can anyone give me any tips about how to go about making plans for accommodation/meeting local people/etc.. I really want this experience to be something that i will always remember and i am completely open minded when it comes to my itinerary- all I want is to experience something other than how it is in my small town in canada.