I Don't recommend watching the following

Wolf Creek, Rogue, Picnic at Hanging Rock, Snowtown or Razorback

Mezo ya bugger,

? Mad Max?



Your a kiwi so should know enough about OZ. Do visit Gallipoli Turkey out of ANZAC day for the lack of crowds..

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Camping at the rock is expensive. But I think you will want/need to do that to get the full experience. Camp out at Curtin Springs on the way in, and maybe again on the way out .. free across the road IIRC. That should give you half a day at the rock each side of your paid camping. You may like to spend 2 nights at the rock camping. Entry to the rock cost a bomb, is valid for a week IIRC. As well as the rock there is the olgas too.

Kings Canyon is worth doing a little north of the rock. Hard not to camp there ..not free .. but if you want to do the walk you need most of a day.

Alice springs .. visit the gorges east and west. Again limited for camping and not usually free.

Further north - Katherine Gorge, Edith Falls (most go straight past this, camping is not free and they don't have much for food)
then Kakadu and Litchfield as a minimum.

Fuel and Food will not be cheap. And you won't be carrying enough food to make much difference in cost. Free camping is your cost saver in OZ. Once you depart for Asia you can pretty much get rid of your cooking and camping gear untill you get to Turkey. I'd be inclined to keep a sheet to sleep in .. can well be cleaner than what is available in a cheap hotel. Then it gets expensive again and you may want your camping gear back. Turkey and Greece I found cheaper still to eat from a street vendor or small restaurant rather than buy (at tourist prices) and cook myself . You may by that time be more use to bargaining then I was then so may be not?

I tend to think of the transport stages as the most expensive .. I get nothing from them other than hopping from one place to another ... The rest give you great memories that are worth it.