Always keen to not only pass on my knowledge but teach it to others. Send any photos of the trees your trying to identify, photo of tree trunk, leaves, buds, flowers, bark etc.any other info like location, approximate height above sea level, other species around etc.
Those two books are great, in fact I was only looking through" honey flora of victoria" last night. The fact that your out there looking at the forest and searching for information makes it easy to teach/learn.
I'll try and add photos to my findings, and include genus and species so it's easier to search for them in books/Google etc. I leave a lot of information out for fear of boring people, but it's often those small bits of info that are parts of the puzzle for this season or the next.
Plant id is always a challenge but suddenly it clicks, I've always enjoyed those moments when I see the penny drop as an apprentice recognizes a specie or picks the difference between two similar varieties.
I laughed at your comment that when you go out into the forest you feel that it's completely over your head, look up it is... but remember to look down the under story is very important.
I too try to find private property rather than state forest etc.more secure and out of site from general public, but most importantly the landholders often have a connection to there land and surrounds. My conversations with some of the farmers helps me to make decisions on the upcoming season etc and I know that goes both ways as they know I'm out there also observing and translating what the land is trying to tell us.
Enjoy the challenge, good luck.