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Check out my latest stories from my adventures and travel around Australia
Digital Swaggie Publishing
Built on the premise that the best stories come from the characters you meet on the journey.
Digital Swaggie Publishing is an independent adventure-travel publishing house focused on long-form narrative works that document place, movement, and lived experience.
Its primary catalogue includes motorcycle travel memoirs that explore regional and remote Queensland, combining journey-based storytelling with cultural, historical, and geographic insights.
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Books and Guides
Books about travel ignite the soul and provide fuel to the adventurer. This trilogy provides a deep descriptive insight into the place that is Queensland, developing a sense of place. They entertain with travel narratives full of wonder and unique Australian humour. Queensland is one of the best adventure motorcycling destinations on the planet. But it’s not for the faint at heart.
Gun Fights, Ghosts and Goannas
This book is more than a motorcycle travel story, it’s an adventure through the heart of Queensland and the soul of Australia. Along the way, Gary learns the secret of life, loses his money by betting on chickens and solves the murder of the swaggie from the song Waltzing Matilda. His message to the reader is that it’s never too late to set and achieve goals. If he can do it anyone can, and it’s easier than you think. Just twist the throttle and look out for kangaroos.
Red Dust and Rainforests
Continuing his path of self-discovery, Gary faces deep bull dust tracks, mechanical failures, and challenging riding conditions that test his skills and resilience. As storms gather over the Great Dividing Range, he reflects on his life journey and the vital role adventure plays in men’s mental health. Driven by the desire to become a better rider, he dreams of tackling the remote road to Cape York, uncovering tragic tales of failed explorers, confronting a fierce Cassowary, and discovering some of the world’s most breathtaking beaches.
Red Dust and Rainforests captures nature’s raw power, the joy of camaraderie, and the spirit of self-discovery in this final chapter of a 20,000-kilometre odyssey through Queensland. For anyone eager to break free from the ordinary and embrace a life-changing journey, suit up—your adventure awaits!”
Sand Dunes and the Serpent
Sand Dunes and the Serpent is a journey into the vast, unforgiving heart of western Queensland — where distances are measured in days, not kilometres, and the land quietly tests those who travel through it.
Riding from the Gulf Country in the north, through Mount Isa, and down to the edge of the Simpson Desert at Birdsville, Gary follows ancient tracks across country shaped by deep Aboriginal history and reshaped by modern mining towns. Here, culture, industry, and isolation collide under an immense sky.
The final book in the Queensland Adventure Riding Series, Sand Dunes and the Serpent is more than a travelogue. It’s a reckoning — with solitude, with place, and with the forces that draw people back to the edge of the map. Some journeys reveal landscapes. Others reveal what’s been coiled beneath the surface all along.
Coming in 2027
Storytelling
This site is about adventure storytelling and travel writing — long-form creative non-fiction, sense of place essays, and honest gear reviews shaped by real journeys.
The stories shared here come from the road: remote landscapes, forgotten towns, local histories, and solo adventures across Australia and beyond. Each category below represents a different way of experiencing place — whether by motorcycle, on foot, or through quiet observation.
Select an image below to explore each storytelling theme.
History
Stories of great events connect the explorer narrative and provide context for the development of Australia and its people.
Beach Life
Beaches and beach life make up much of the Australian culture. From the best beaches to unique stories of beach events.
Weekend Markets and Art
Artists and artisans use the market to commercially express their creativity. These are their stories.
SCUBA Diving
The Great Barrier Reef and the Australian coast have some of the most spectacular diving in the world. These are stories from the ocean, highlighting spectacular diving experiences.
Camping Adventures
Australia is the perfect place to pitch a tent and enjoy the great outdoors. Many of these stories are about out-of-the-way places visited or guidelines for staying safe. I’ve also included some gear review to make your gear choices more informed
Adventure Motorcycle Touring
Queensland has some of the best dirt road adventure destinations in the world. I’ve also added many out-of-the-way places and those off-the-beaten-path destinations.
Kayak Adventures
There are plenty of places to go kayaking in Queensland and Australia generally. Places like the Noosa Everglades or kayaking the bays of the Whitsundays add a new area of interest for people looking to get out on the water.
About Me
Author – Storyteller – Adventure writer and Public Speaker
My name is Gary Wood, and I’m an author, storyteller, travel and adventure writer and public speaker. I combine adventure, research, and applied communication to create work that informs, inspires, and engages. From exploring Queensland’s remote landscapes on motorcycle journeys to designing technical content and training solutions, my work bridges the gap between storytelling and practical clarity.
A Sense of Place
The “A Sense of Place Series” is a collection of short essays exploring regional Australian towns and landscapes through mood, hisotry and lived experiences. Instead of highlighting the obvious — where to eat, what to see, or how long to stay — these reflections focus on what gives a place its character and why it came to exist at all. They’re written to make you curious enough to visit, but leave plenty undiscovered when you arrive.
Each essay offers a starting point rather than a guidebook, providing context that deepens the experience of being there.
This reflection forms part of an ongoing Sense of Place series exploring regional Australia. Expanded versions of these stories are collected in my books.