Don't want to sound too smug (I'm not and I have got lost so I'm never complacent) but I find VFR nav relatively easy...the reason? I love maps. As a kid I used to study maps (sad little git that I was) and when it came to flying I found I had a fair knowledge of where places were in relation to each other.
I'm not advocating any methods or fancy stuff - they've all been discussed - except to say that trying remember number rules and maths whilst bumbling around ain't easy, so somehow you have to minimise that stuff. Planning your flight - yes, definitely, but all that's been discussed already.
But away from the specific flights, study your maps until you know them like a friend. Start to get familiar with the context of things on your x/c route and area. And I mean things around your track, not just on your track.
Start with the big features first, (terrain, coastline, large water features, cities) but get an idea of where railways, rivers, roads run to & from. When you see airfields in "your" area, get the VFR guide out and look at the layouts. When you see towns, go the road atlas and look at the general shape and spread of the roads.
Do this BEFORE you start looking at the zones, beacons & other aero bits n bobs. Bring that in as you set up your flight plan (i.e. what the zones are, what the VFR rules are for them, frequencies, heights, where do I make my initial call, etc.)
I've found the above helps me keep looking out rather than poring over the map, which in turn means I'm not checking position every 2 mins - rather I have major position checks every 1/4 of the leg, but in reality the "real" map almost unfolds before me (because I know that point X is roughly 10 miles SW of point Y & is joined by a road with a canal running by it, and so on). It's not just the characteristics of a particular point - it's the flow of information and relationship of points that you have to conquer.
...and plan "escape plans" for if/when you get lost. i.e. on leg 2, if I become lost, I will fly due West (e.g. an easy heading) until I get to the motorway (because it's N-S and it'll take me to X & its away from zones & from there I will get back on track by flying 045, etc etc - must reason this out obviously).
I've not flown the Oz deserts, but I have flown LA to Las Vegas. That required rigorous planning & monitoring, & I wasnt so familiar with the map (though I did study it for days before) but was aided by VORs as backup (& some reasonable line features to follow). Interestingly that a/c had an autopilot which we set to track the VOR, but it didnt work correctly, & visual position fixing won the day.
[ 10 January 2002: Message edited by: poetpilot ]
[ 10 January 2002: Message edited by: poetpilot ]</p>