Some journeys are about distance.
Others are about attention.
Dusty Boots Journal is organised around a small number of recurring themes. These are not destinations so much as ways of moving through the world. Ways of noticing. Ways of asking better questions while you travel.
Each theme gathers stories, essays, routes, and reflections that share a common thread.
Walking, Hiking and Meaningful Routes
Understanding places one step at a time
Walking slows the world to human speed. These pieces explore journeys shaped by footpaths, trails, pilgrim routes, and everyday walks where landscape, memory, and effort intertwine. The road is measured not in kilometres, but in conversations, blisters, and quiet moments.
👉 https://dustybootsjournal.com.au/walking-hiking-and-meaningful-routes/
Travel Writing & Reflection
Why we travel, not just where
This theme looks inward as much as outward. Essays on motivation, restlessness, belonging, and the stories we tell ourselves about movement. Less itinerary, more introspection. Fewer highlights, more honest footnotes.
👉 https://dustybootsjournal.com.au/travel-writing-reflections/
Borderlands and Crossings
Where travel happens between the lines
Borders are rarely just lines on a map. They are cultural seams, political fault lines, and personal thresholds. These stories sit in the in-between: crossings, margins, contested spaces, and the moments when travel becomes negotiation rather than consumption.
👉 https://dustybootsjournal.com.au/borderlands-and-crossings/
Remote Landscapes
Where geography sets the terms
In some places, comfort is not guaranteed and control is an illusion. This theme gathers stories from wild, isolated, and demanding environments where terrain, weather, and distance shape every decision. Here, nature leads. Humans follow.
👉 https://dustybootsjournal.com.au/remote-landscapes-and-wild-places/
Slow Travel in South East Asia
Staying long enough to notice
Slow travel isn’t about doing less. It’s about seeing more. These pieces come from lingering in towns, islands, and neighbourhoods across South East Asia long enough for routine to replace novelty. The reward is depth, texture, and real connection.
👉 https://dustybootsjournal.com.au/slow-travel-in-south-east-asia/
Australian Back Roads & Remote Travel
Where the road matters more than the destination
Australia reveals itself away from highways and headline attractions. This theme follows back roads, long distances, empty fuel stops, and small towns where travel becomes a lesson in scale, patience, and humility.
👉 https://dustybootsjournal.com.au/australian-back-roads/