MY DREAMING
WELCOME! WOMINJEKA! ISTEN HOZOTT! BINE ATI VENIT! BIENVENIDOS! BIENVENUE! WILLKOMMEN! ALOHA! BEM-VINDO! HAYKUYKUY! HOŞGELDİNİZ! Добро пожаловат! स्वागत हे! 歡迎 أهلا بك – ‘AHLAAN BIK! স্বাগত! BENVINGUDA! FÀILTE! WELKOM! WELGEKOMEN! SELAMAT DATANG! ຍິນດີຕ້ອນຮັບ! Chào Mừng Bạn! Svakom! Yindī t̂xnrạb! Witamy! Velkommen!
“What we draw on from our memories,
and think, imagine and create in our daily lives,
is our dreaming.”
Djon Mundine, Bundjalung man and Aboriginal Curator
WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that this page may contain the images of deceased people.
I’m an 19-year-old girl from Australia, from the place where My Dreaming began. For eight years now, I have been traveling the world with my parents and my twin brother on a school of life journey.
We don’t have what you would refer to as a conventional lifestyle. While my brother and I are classified as “homeschoolers”, we are definitely not the classic definition of what you might think this means. We don’t have formal classes, a structured curriculum, nor do we strictly follow any particular defined style of education, yet still, we learn a great deal in our everyday experiences. I like to think of ourselves more as life learners, everyday activating knowledge within us from the world and all the living things surrounding us.
Before we embarked on our journey around the world, we had travelled quite a lot around Australia, throughout the states of Victoria, Tasmania, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, and the Northern Territory, enjoying the nature and beauty of the land of my birth and the land that holds a deep place in my heart.
We even made it to Uluru, Australia’s ‘Red Centre’ and were honoured to experience and learn about the sacred Aboriginal lands, the indigenous people and their customs. I learned about the significance of our environment, of the places we live in, the concept of timelessness, images of wisdom that get passed on to descendants through ceremony & song and most importantly, about our connectedness to every living thing. That was when I realised that our Dreaming is the act of creation from our dreams to reality.
I decided to share this Dreaming with you, and trust in the creation of our collective reality; together we can touch the heart of every living soul. I invite you to share in this dream with me – all as Dreamtime Travelers in this amazing and abundant world.
Meeting Artist, Elder & Lutheran Minister Peter Nyaningu
My brother and I with Living Legend “Jamu Jack” Crombie in 2011
Every journey begins with a single step…
In 2009, we sold our house, taking our first steps towards living a location independent lifestyle. We didn’t know it at the time, but our hearts and dreaming were calling us to take to the road… to go on our own “Walkabout” and discover the stories of the World.
In 2011, our 6-month Australian Roadtrip marked the inception of what to this day is a continual journey of exploration, learning & discovery, – collecting and sharing of Stories and the wonderment in the gift of Life – in essence, the creation of our Labour of Love.
In 2012, with only a couple of suitcases and backpacks, we boarded a plane to our first overseas destination: the United States of America. Since then, we have traveled to 52 countries on six continents, with countless stories, adventures and experiences of learning in our hearts, and the journey continues.
I have been devouring books for as long as I can remember, and my unbridled love of reading is matched by my passion for expression in the written word. It was actually while visiting Arcos de la Frontera, deep in the heart of Andalusia, Spain, that one of my personal experiences, guided by my love of animals, inspired me to write my first novel, Dawn of The Guardian – published in March 2016!
Apart from my love of reading and writing, I enjoy travelling with a passion almost like it’s an obsession. I love hiking in the wild, in the energetic and natural beauty of lesser known places. I also love swimming in the sea or ocean and pretty much anything to do with beautiful beaches or the water, wherever it is we travel. I treasure friendships made and every moment in the presence of each other’s being.
I have been blessed with many stories and I must admit that I do enjoy telling them. I am in the process of getting them all up here, but it is going to take me a little while as I have been on my International Book Tour speaking at conferences, schools, libraries, bookstores and communities of learning throughout Australia, the UK, the USA, Canada and Mexico. I am also in the process of writing my second book, the sequel to Dawn of the Guardian.
During my Book Tour, a most exciting opportunity occurred when I was offered a professional Publishing and Agency contract. I am so happy to share the news that Dawn of the Guardian has now been translated into Hungarian and on 1st September 2017 Az Őrző hajnala was published by the wonderful Kolibri Kiadó in Hungary!
It was with great anticipation that after 3 years we made our return journey to Hungary, where we embarked on a 3-month Hungarian Book Tour. With 36 events, that took us from the heart of Transylvania, all the way to Barcs on the Hungarian – Croatian border, we undertook a journey which was a brilliant, engaging and energising experience, albeit, at times, a little tiring too, which took us to Schools, Libraries, Book Stores and Home Learning Communities, where we were received with much warmth and genuine welcome. This gifted me a great opportunity to improve my Hungarian too, as I also had over 30 media interviews with national and regional television, radio, newspapers and magazines, culminating in what was a dream come true, the occasion to share my story at the TEDx Youth@Budapest Event, with 17 other positively inspirational young people.
Looking back, it seems like a bit of a dream – it happened so fast, but, I am sincerely grateful to everyone who so willingly and genuinely came to assist and be a part of this journey. My special thanks go to our publisher Kolibri Kiadó and the team who were tireless in their efforts to support us and most especially to our many friends and family and all those wonderful people who came along to our events who willingly went out of their way to give their support and love, without which, we would not have been able to make this happen. I am so truly thankful to you all. For more details check out my Events page, or the ‘In The Media’ section of my home-page here at Dreamtime Traveler.
I trust that you will enjoy reading about my Dreaming adventures in the world, as much as I enjoy living them.
The Journey so far…
1. AUSTRALIA – Country of my birth; Northern East coast & Outback trip: Jul-Nov 2011; Dec 2015 – May 2016; Nov 2018 – Feb 2019; Nov 2019 – 2020 – 2021
2. USA – Jun 2012-Nov 2012; May-Oct 2013; Nov 2016 – Mar 2017; May – Jun 2017 ~ 39 of the 50 States; Sept & Oct 2018; Aug-Sept 2019
3. COLOMBIA – Nov-Dec 2012
4. ECUADOR – Dec 2012 – Feb 2013
5. PERU – Feb 2013 – Mar 2013
6. CHILE – Mar 2013
7. ARGENTINA – Apr 2013
8. PARAGUAY – Apr 2013
9. BRAZIL – Apr 2013
10. PANAMA – Apr 2013
11. THE BAHAMAS – May 2013
12. TURKS & CAICOS ISLANDS – May 2013
13. CANADA – Aug – Sept 2013, Jan – Feb, Jun 2017
14. ENGLAND – Oct 2013; Jun 2016; Oct-Nov 2016, Jul 2017
15. WALES – Oct 2013
16. MOROCCO – Oct 2013
17. SPAIN – Oct 2013; Oct 2014 – Aug 2015; Sept – Nov 2015; Jun-Sept 2016; Feb – May 2018
18. CZECH REPUBLIC – Nov 2013, Aug 2017
19. HUNGARY – Nov 2013 – Nov 2014, Aug – Dec 2017; Jun & Aug 2018, Aug 2019
20. Transylvania, ROMANIA – Jan 2014; Jun – July 2014; Sept 2017; Jul & Sept-Oct 2018; Jun-Jul 2019
21. AUSTRIA – Aug 2014
22. ITALY – Sept 2014, Aug 2015; Jun 2018
23. GREECE, Rhodes – Sept 2014
24. TURKEY – Oct 2014
25. PORTUGAL – Jun 2015
26. FRANCE – Jun, Aug 2015; Jun 2016; Jun 2018
27. SWITZERLAND – Aug 2015
28. MONACO – Aug 2015
29. RUSSIA – Nov 2015
30. INDIA – Nov/Dec 2015
31. MALAYSIA – Dec 2015
32. CHINA – May 2016
33. SCOTLAND – October 2016; Jun-Jul 2017
34. DENMARK – November 2016
35. MEXICO – Mar-May 2017; Oct 2018
36. BELGIUM – Aug 2017
37. LUXEMBOURG – Aug 2017
38. GERMANY – Aug 2017
39. SLOVAKIA – Aug 2017
40. ISRAEL – Dec 2017/Jan 2018
41. JORDAN – Dec 2017/Jan 2018
42. CROATIA – Jan 2018
43. SLOVENIA – Jan 2018; Jun 2018
44. ANDORRA – Jan 2018
45. NORTHERN IRELAND – Sep 2018
46. INDONESIA – Feb/Mar 2019; Sep/Oct 2019
47. LAOS – Mar 2019
48. VIETNAM – Mar-May 2019
49. CAMBODIA – May/Jun 2019
50. THAILAND – Jun 2019
51. POLAND – Aug 2019
52. NORWAY – Aug 2019
Where to next…
In the winds of change, our hearts will always find their direction.
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I have a house in, Florida, your family is welcome here.
Thank you Lorrie for your kindness and generosity! We would love to visit the next time we are in Florida. It is one of our favorite places!
And we have a house in Chamonix, in France, if you want to come in 🙂 Your blog is amazing, we will follow you in every step 🙂
Thank you Elodie for your kind words and encouragement. Perhaps we might get an opportunity to visit you as we are planning a trip to France soon. 🙂
Hi Reka
I love this! I’m 13 too and love international travel and writing. I can’t wait to read through these. What a great experience. Keep in touch. Taylor
Hi Taylor thank you! I would love to know what you think and would love to read some of your work too. 🙂
Hi Reka! I’ve just read about your story on the Daily Mail website and I’d love to do an article in Take 5 magazine in Australia. Perhaps flick me an email and I can send you some details! Thanks, Ashley (acameron@bauer-media.com.au)
What a wonderful, amazing adventure. You and your brother are definitely “Third Culture Kids” now… welcome to the club!! Google it; I’m sure you’ll find it helpful, especially when you go back to Australia, even for a visit.. We’re a unique lot, and completely understand your wanderlust. I’m an adult “TCK” now, but the urge to run away and find adventure is still a daily struggle. Our home is nowhere and everywhere. Good luck on your journey… it’ll be such fun to follow your travels.
Thank you Joan!
I had not yet heard of that term, but it is very interesting as a concept. Perhaps this is what the world needs to have more of. Culturally tolerant people seeing the world from an inclusive perspective. Thank you for your well wishes and encouragement. Don’t neglect your adventurous side when you hear the calling!
Hi Reka-would love to interview you and your family for a blog….let me know if you’re interested. Cheers, Stacey thegiftoftravel.wordpress.com
Hi Stacey,
Thank you! I have sent you an email and am excited to hear from you!
Hi Reka.
My name is Rita and I’m from Portugal (Which apparently you already visited, and I hope you enjoyed it. =))
I just found out about you and your family, and I think it is just amazing. I always wanted to see the world, to explore, to know. Unfortunately I never did. But I do wish to one day to be able to enjoy such experience. Especially in Asia and Africa, because I truly find their culture fascinating.
I do have a question for you, that is a bit more practical and less dreamy.
How do your parents did it? Did they just worked for a couple of years, gathering money to do a trip that long? And how much money did they need to handle a trip for this long? Or do they work while travelling?
I’m asking this, because I truly wish to one day be able to just go and travel the world, and I read this stories about people that do it, and I never understood how they managed it economically. I understand that you don’t waste money on superficial things, and all, but you still have to eat, and find places to stay the night (at least while in the cities, because on wild places you can always sleep under the stars).
Well I won’t be bothering you with questions anymore. Hope you enjoy Camino de Santiago, and have a wonderful new experience =)
Kisses from Portugal =)
Hello Rita,
Thank you for your kind words, thoughts and questions. We loved Portugal, although it was a rather quick trip. We would love to see more of Portugal perhaps later this year if we get the opportunity. The people we encountered were very friendly and Portugal has such a beautiful countryside and coast. Yes, my parents did save for awhile before we left, but it was to put together a project to help meet people’s needs called EnergeticXChange. This was a non-profit share economy project to help people in need find each other. Traveling the world is much the same.
The truth is that you don’t need much money to travel the world. You do if you want to stay in five star hotels and resorts etc. This is also a way to travel. We travel a lot differently. If you are happy to travel for the sake of the culture, the people, the learning experiences, you can always find a very cost effective way to travel the world and place to eat and sleep.
There are many share economy projects that assist in reducing the cost of traveling, also some places where you can offer your assistance in exchange for accommodation and lodgings as well as even people very willing to host you. The way we travel as a family doesn’t require lots of money at all. This is because we as a family have very simple needs. A roof over our head and some food is enough for us if we can experience the places and people around us.
In my experience, it is not money that stops people from traveling, but rather the fear of the unknown, of what is out there waiting for you. As a family we have always encountered people all around the world who are generous, helpful and really happy to share what they have. We too encounter experiences almost everyday when we travel where we too are able to offer our assistance and share with others too. In the end it all balances out. I trust that your love of travel and some of what I have said will encourage you to go out there with confidence to know that you can do it too. You will find your way and this is important! Every road traveled is an opportunity to find something new within ourselves. I am learning this now everyday I walk the Camino.
Thank you again for your warm wishes!
Réka
[…] For years, I was a teacher in both formal and informal education. Camp, youth group, swim, school, and clubs-I worked with children, teenagers and young adults in various facets. Although I physically left the classroom and the world of traditional education in 2014, I’ve continued to learn and work with those on their own journey of education. Through writing, travel, perspective changing growth and school all their own, I’ve connected and reconnected. I’ve reaffirmed my belief that there’s no ‘one right way’ to learn and that we ALL have something to offer. I was introduced to Reka through an acquaintance’s post and subsequent article. This young Australian teenager (who hails from the same city as my husband) has been traveling the world with her family for over three years. Ditching the traditional for the non-traditional and learning along the way, she continues to inspire. In a world where all too often teenagers are spoken to, forced to learn and rarely given the opportunity to have their voices heard, Reka is doing the exact opposite. As a self-proclaimed ‘life learner’, she is traveling and learning, exploring and absorbing, writing and sharing her experiences with the world. For any teacher, watching your students fly is extraordinary. Although not her teacher, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to interview this world schooler and help share her story. […]
I’m curious to know about schooling. My kids are only 5 and 3 but we hope to do the same when the eldest is around 10.
Hi Belinda,
Thank you for the comment! Sorry that it took a little while to respond to you. We would love to give you all the information that you need regarding the schooling aspect of travel. This in fact, is one of the greatest reasons for our travels. Along with my parents, we consider ourselves to be life learners and travel is a key component of learning. While this view may be unconventional when it comes to “Education”, we have consciously chosen to be unconventional in our approach to learning, as there is many advantages to learning in this manner, especially when it comes to keeping the attention of younger children in the learning process. If you would like, I would happily write to you of my experiences and perhaps this would give you an insight that might be useful for your planning.
My very best to you,
Reka
Hi!! Love reading about your adventures. Any plans to travel around Ireland and Scotland in the near future?
Hello Danielle,
Thank you for your support and comments! Ireland and Scotland are most definitely on the list, though I am not sure exactly when. They are two countries that hold a deep calling for me to visit, the places and the people and I am trusting that we will be able to get to them soon. I have had dreams for years of exploring them both extensively. Are there any places there you would recommend in particular?
My very best to you!
Réka
Hello Reka, I have gratefully stumbled across your families profile this evening and now your website and journey. You write beautifully it just makes me want to keep reading more and more. I am very inspired as I am currently planning our escape for my family of 3, including our 11yo daughter. She and I have the travel gene and crave new adventures, to date these have been minimal, I just know she is at a great age to explore the world education system. We are from New Zealand and recently moved to Sydney to spend time with my husbands parents. As we have already downsized in NZ I see this as the perfect opportunity to continue on our journey and leap again from here so I have started the planning process. I have so many questions and thoughts whirling through my head about planning the route, do we stay for long periods of time, schooling is very high on that priority list, family safety and all those crazy things I’m sure we’ll learn along the way. I guess I’m not asking you any questions but just to say I love your writing and I’m looking forward to reading more about your family adventures as I plan mine. 🙂
Hello Carmen,
Thank you so much for your generous thoughts. It makes such a difference to know how much our journey and the stories we encounter are inspiring people to shed their ties and take flight to the greater world out there. I know from experience that it is not a decision to be taken lightly, nor however, is it something that should be feared. For us as a family, it is a collective journey of learning and discovery where we are constantly meeting new and interesting people, finding great new places, cultural experiences and inspiration from the world around us to travel on. I am certain that my parents and I would be happy to answer any questions that you do have regarding your decision to travel, whether that be about the travel, learning or the family aspects of embarking on such a journey. All I want to say is that you are not alone. There are many of us out there already and a swathe of resources and groups on World Schooling, some of which we are members of. I can tell from your note that you are an adventurer and that you will move forward with great courage with your family to experience some wonderful adventures that I would really love to read of too. Let me know if you would like to continue the conversation and I can email you and perhaps we can offer some assistance in your decision making by answering some of your questions.
My warmest regards and thanks for your kind thoughts,
Réka
Hi Reka,
I came across your blog afte the facebook group, Free Range Learning, shared an article you wrote.
I’ve enjoyed learning about your journey and just bought your book on amazon for my daughter and i!
I have so many questions, but for now i wanted to ask for a list of your most favorite books. My daughter is also an avid reader and I’d love a recommendation from you, an inclusive, world-traveler, in some great ones for her.
Thank you so much for your time!
Aria
Hi Aria,
Thank you so much for making the effort to get in touch and most definitely for your support. It means so much to my family and I. I would be most happy to answer all your questions, especially about my favourite books. It would be great to know how old your daughter is. I will get in touch with you through email and we can continue the conversation there.
My many thanks again!
Réka
Hello Reka,
Thank you for sharing your family’s World-schooling adventures! They are very inspiring and your writing is brilliant! I was amazed by your article in the Guardian!
We are a home educating family from Greece, based in Manchester, UK. We love travelling together and we do so, as much as possible, since our two girls (now 11 and 9) were babies. Actually my younger one was born in Perth, DownUnder, where we stayed for 2 years.
We have recently moved to Evia island, in Greece, for a few months and would be very happy to have you here with your family!
Our warmest wishes for a life full of never-ending travels,
Athena, Chloe and Letό
Hello Athena Chloe & Letó,
It is so wonderful to receive your kind and encouraging comments and to learn of your journey as a family too! We are currently in Melbourne, the place of my birth, which I am not sure if you know, has the biggest expat Greek population living outside of Athens. I have many Greek friends here. It is also so great to connect with other families who are educating their children and traveling the world. We have only been to Rodos, but we really loved exploring the island and all the people were so warm and friendly. I feel there are many more Greek experiences that we would love to have the opportunity to explore. I am not sure if the opportunity to get to Evia would present itself for us in the coming few months, as we are building the promotion activities around my book, but your invitation is so kind and we would take it up at a moment’s notice if not for this. I have looked at photos and Evia looks like paradise itself! We will be traveling to the UK in September to promote the book and we will most likely make it to Manchester. Perhaps if you are back there then we could come visit you there and have the opportunity to meet.
I am grateful for your interest and wish all of you exciting and happy travels and learning!
My warmest regards,
Réka
Hi, Reka! My name’s Gabi, I’m almost ten and I’m from Poland. I just read about you in my English book:) I want to ask when are you going to come to Poland? Our country is very beautiful and I think you’ll love it:)
Warmly greetings,
Gabi
PS. If you’ll choose Warsaw, we offer our help (me, my sister and my parents:)
Hi Gabi! Thank you so much for your kind words and lovely invitation! I have seen so many beautiful photos from Poland and I would love to visit one day soon! 🙂 At the moment I am not sure exactly when I will be in that part of the world, however when I am, I would love to host a meet-up in Warsaw! I’ll definitely keep you posted. 🙂 Hugs from Laos where I currently am now!
Hi Reka ! My name is Janek. I’m eleven years old and I from Poland. I like play computer games and ride a bike. Poland is wonderful country. Write me back and tell something about you I hope you are fine.
Hi Janek! Thank you for writing to me. Poland is a beautiful part of the world. We visited briefly there a couple of years ago. I would love to see more of it, but I’m not sure when I might have the opportunity. I am now living in Sydney, Australia, where I am also a Beach Lifesaver.