Hi Nick
Try to orient your sky map with what you see up in the sky. Looking for eta, just orient your map to how the Cross looks in the sky. You'll notice that eta Carina is off to the west of Crux by about 10-20 degrees. You can see it as a bright patch looking like a pale cloud. Don't look directly at it, use averted vision (i.e. look at it sideways), it's easier to see that way.
Keep using your charts in this way and soon enough you won't need them to find your way about, except for looking at the faint and fuzzies