I have a Nikon D80 with the VR 18-200 lenses. I find it takes excellent photos in full auto mode and am still getting used to the other functions. It works well for airborne shots thanks to the VR (anti vibration) capability, yet the lens is long enough to get reasonable ground-air shots, especially if you keep a low Iso setting and just enlarge the photos on the computer.
For the Nikon, this lens equates to a 28-300 in 35mm equivalent terms - a 1.5 equivalence ratio. Other brands have different ratios - eg, Olympus have a 2x factor, due to the smaller sensor; Canon are (I think) 1.6x.
The only thing I find is that the Nikon is bulkier than I'd like - there's little point in taking it along just in case you want to use it. The Olympus E-410 is much smaller and lighter and worth considering, but feels less solidly built and I don't think offers the VR capability. And it doesn't seem to be available in Oz yet.