1987: The Beginning - A Meeting in San Diego
- While traveling independently, Steve (from Northern Ireland) and Sally (from North England) meet in a YHA hostel in San Diego. Their connection is instant.
- They spend a month traveling through Mexico together.
- Afterwards, they continue their journey to New Zealand, working and traveling there and in Australia to fund their adventures.
Late 1980s: Travel, Pregnancy, and an Epic Journey Home
- After some time in Australia, Sally unexpectedly falls pregnant.
- Instead of canceling their planned two-year trip, they embark on an overland journey through Asia while Sally is pregnant.
- Their route takes them through Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines.
- At nearly 7 months pregnant, they fly from the Philippines to Hong Kong.
- They then continue overland through China, Russia, and Eastern Europe to arrive in the UK just in time for the birth of their first daughter, Sorcha.
1990: Inspiration and a New Chapter
- After Sorcha's birth, they take a driving holiday through Ireland.
- Staying in unique hostels inspires them with the dream of one day opening their own.
- After Sorcha turns 6 months old, they put on their backpacks again and resume traveling, this time with their baby.
- Their travels with Sorcha include camel treks in India and her first steps in a temple in Nepal, before moving on to Thailand and finally returning to Australia.
- Upon their return to Australia in 1990, they buy a dilapidated house on Terminus Street in Cairns. The text states they returned "together in 1990 with their first child born."
1992: The Birth of Dreamtime Hostel
- They begin inviting travelers to stay in their home to help pay the rent, formally establishing Dreamtime Travellers Rest.
- The story mentions they worked on the "restoration and transformation" of the Queenslander property.
2013: 21st Anniversary and Accolades
- The hostel is a major success. In November 2013, Dreamtime celebrates its 21st anniversary.
- It has won the Hostelworld award for the number one hostel in Australia for the second time in five years.
2016: 25th Anniversary and Growth
- Dreamtime celebrates its 25th birthday.
- It has grown from a single house into three beautifully restored Queenslander homes.
- Steve and Sally now have three children and continue to travel the world.
(gaps to be filled within halls of the memory)
I met Steve recently after he had attended the FC workshop for the weekend. He approached with a question: 'Do you have a torch?' and I replied 'Yes?' so he asked 'Do you have two?' .. and from here we found out to name him Steve the Lightbringer (quite a Prometheus) and we have established our code 'You need a torch?'. The other part mentioned was also in a Jewish manner, when I called him Jester, because he was in a kibbutz in the eighties and he learned Hebrew while there. And there is where his 'spirit' has been formed in the Jester, pure and unspoiled light, full of humour, experience and the depth - to refer to when some 'light' is needed maybe? 🙂