Unfortunately I haven't traveled to most of the places you are looking to visit, so I unable to provide much help.

If you want to photograph birds in the dryer parts of the country you need to go when the drought has been running for at least a few years. This way most of the temporary water courses have gone dry. Birds will travel long distances to permanent water making these spots great locations to setup a hide.

Going to the Red Center is great but you need to pick low cloud days otherwise it's no fun. Note: The center does get very cold (-5oC) in winter, so pack your thermals.

As a general rule, in the southern parts of the country, don't go bush in the summer (December to March) unless you are experienced. Otherwise you may end up making the national news as another idiot who returned home in a box.

Hope this helps.