Im a college student looking to study abroad in Australia. Im really interested in ecology, conservation, and animal science. But beyond that, Im hoping to explore Australia a bit, and see what the culture is like and such. I love art and history, and I appreciate a city with a lively nightlife. Wherever I go, since Im gonna be there for an entire semester, Im hoping to explore nearby cities as well. So Id also like to avoid cities that are really interesting but have nothing going on around them for hundreds of miles.

My options are:

Brisbane (University of Queensland)
Cairns (SIT Australia) – this one seems really cool, but Cairns doesnt seem too exciting, and is rather far removed from other cool places in Australia. Would love for someone to convince me otherwise.
Melbourne (University of Melbourne) – I think Im leaning towards this one for now. Melbourne is awesome, and the university has a really good program for animal studies, but Im worried its also a bit isolated. I get that everything in Australia is kinda far from one another, but a 12 hour bus ride to Sydney? Sheesh.
Perth (University of Western Australia)
Sydney (University of New South Wales OR University of Sydney) – Sydney is an incredible city from what Ive heard, and its right in between Melbourne and Brisbane and the Gold Coast. Again, not sure how reasonable travel is from one place to the other. Townsville (James Cook University)

Thoughts, ideas?