I like to say it's a multi-media project concieved to showcase the rarely-told stories and characters from the Australian bush, but it's really an elaborate scheme I've designed to get paid for travelling the country.

It started early in 2007 when Charles Wooley talked me into driving around the country in a campervan - The Parrot, pictured below at Red Lily Lagoon, Arnhem Land - sourcing and broadcasting stories for his (then) radio show Across Australia.

To be honest I was only lukewarm on the idea initially, having already done my share of travel as the Today Show’s wandering weatherman, but I found myself getting seduced by the whole thing - the country, living on the road, the people - and I ended up really enjoying the work, interviewing everyone I came across, from nutters and nudists to hookers and saints, as well as all the usual suspects, and gaining valuable insight into the country from the people who know it best. Hear sample radio interviews.

From that trip the first Red in the Centre book  and companion CD eventuated - read  sample book chapters.

. . . and it was in the process of launching these on Channel Seven’s Sunrise that I suggested to the show’s EP that I could probably make television out of the same material.

So out I went again, this time in a new rig - Mother Theresa, pictured left - equipped with camera and editing gear to operate as a one-man production unit (or so the theory went).

And while I had my trials and tribulations - mainly getting my head around the technology needed to pull it off - I quickly realised this was a lifestyle that suited me: one where I could earn a living on the road, doing what I enjoyed, ie talking to people and shaping their stories into forms I could share across a variety of media.

But after two trips I’d just about rendered myself unfit for polite society, so there was nothing to be done but get my own rig and get back out there. And that’s exactly what I’ve done.

So Claude’s my new travelling partner, although it's a while since he's looked as bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as he does in the picture there. He's a factory floor 4x4 Hino Liesse (aka Toyota Coaster) that seemed determined to kill me early on - I've just about had to rebuild him - but it should be said he's done some hard yards for me and I don't exactly handle him with kid gloves.

My clients so far have included Tourism Australia and Australia Network, who I've been supplying video stories to, all the while developing Red in the Centre project, which now amounts to several books, audio books and DVDs. And yes, I still produce the occasional CD of original music, just to keep the independent flag flying high.

Meantime most of the early Red in the Centre merchandise is still available right here, along with the new. So do us both a favour and buy something now before I run out of stock - I’m down to my last million.

Or if you just want to keep up with my progress, check out the blog. It's highly unlikely to be up to date, but it's as close as I get to contributing to any of the other social media vanities.

Cheers,

Monte