Use your gears, go manual when hitting the bottom of the hills that are going to be a climb and change down gears manually for going down hills, as you get to the top of a big hill throw your tranny into 2nd or 3rd gear and use the engine to supply a bit of braking, keeping the tacho about 750 revs below the red line this should allow you just to tap the brakes not keep them applied for long periods, going into 1st gear for downhills is often called for especially on some of the hills down south.............. Keeping your foot on the peddle for long periods will heat the brakes and they will fade away, you can end up with no braking, cooked brakes or fire, always if your brakes get really hot and smoky if the road is flat and you don't need to use them, keep going so they will cool down, stopping doesn't let them cool at all well......... do not put water on hot brake drums unless they have burst into flames, cold water can cause the drums to crack or explode as they are only cast...............
Jervis Bay is my old stomping grounds, absolutely fantastic place but buggerall free camps, used to shoot Bunnies as a kid around Jamberoo and hike all over the hills when it was all just bush, farms and a sleepy little village....If you like aircraft I can highly recommend the Fleet Air Arm Museum at HMAS Albatross just out of Nowra, I was stationed there a few times many years ago.
I know what you mean about trust, never fear it will come back after awhile, having dropped a radiator, an alternator burst into flames, blown oil lines and a starter motor go up in flames over the years, the trust comes back.....................well most times, coming down Camberwarra Mountain in a truck with no brakes did unsettle me for the return trip and I never took that truck out again actually.............