Welcome to Destination Dreaming, Australia’s most respected provider of authentic Off The Grid cultural immersions.
My name is Clint Miller, Co-Founder and Director of Destination Dreaming.
I grew up on the beautiful sunshine coast in QLD, Australia. I was always involved with the local football and surf clubs and loved being outdoors, especially in the ocean. Looking back on that time, the coast was largely mono-culture and I wasn’t really exposed to diverse cultures and never considered the world would be much different to life on the coast.....boy was I wrong!
This all drastically changed in 1998 at 19 years of age when I landed a job in the highlands of Fiji working for an American travel company. I was in charge of a large community service’ program in the middle of the Fijian highlands, no electricity, no clean drinking water. The customers were wealthy American high school students looking to attain community service hours to get into college/university in America. It sounded amazing and felt like I was about to make a real difference in the world. What I discovered couldn’t be further from that! The company sold programs centred around projects designed to meet the needs of the students community service hours, not the needs of these beautiful remote communities. I could really go on and on here but in short, I pushed the company to fund a reservoir which was requested by the village elders as their water source was not big enough to supply their growing community. Instead, the company wanted to focus on concrete footpaths that their students could build. This really frustrated me! I pushed and pushed and we finally got that new reservoir built by a qualified plumber and carpenter, with the help and support of the village. In the end, I got the sack for speaking out against the company and travelled back to the coast with a totally new perspective on the world and a new found love - Fiji!
A few years later I traveled back to the village with a mate to see how things were going. It was totally different being there without large groups of American students there everyday for 12 weeks! One day, during this visit, I was meeting (drinking kava) with the elders in the village and they expressed concern that this company was still pushing projects they didn’t need. The American students were sleeping in the village, not paying to stay and not respecting cultural protocols. They expressed concern that their young men and women in the village were being enticed out of the community into the western culture and that the community were becoming divided over the home stays. The families that hosted students often got showered in gifts. The problem was that not all families got to host students, especially if they didn’t speak English! These visits became about gift giving and the cultural practice of hospitality was becoming more and more material based.
It was in this meeting, on October 12th 2003, where the idea for Destination Dreaming was born.
I was explaining to the elders that “if I was the boss of that company, I wouldn’t do service projects here with high school students, as you people are competent and capable people. You build your own homes, you grow your own food, you have culture, language and lots of native land. You’re some of the richest people in the world, yet you’re being treated like poor people.” I also mentioned that “if I was the boss I would bring people here to learn from you about the importance of community, culture and the power of living in the moment - Fiji Time”!
“If you wanted or needed projects developed, we would help you apply for funding or raise funds for you to complete the work yourself or by professionals”.
After a long pause, one of the elders, Momo Nasokia looked at me and simply said these words; “Clint, why don’t you start your own company?” Light bulb moment!
Momo Nasokia and I in 2005, our second year of business together. Momo owned a village resort style backpackers in the highlands called Nubulevu. Our groups stayed there, supported his business and we visited the village and local primary schools during the day.
Up until that point in time, I had never thought of starting a business or being in business, let alone co-founding an International travel business that grew to include amazing destinations like Timor-Leste, Laos, Cambodia, Northern Territory, QLD and Fiji of course!
Within the next twelve months, I met the smartest and most beautiful person in the world, Kate, who became my wife, mother of our two beautiful boys and co-founder of Destination Dreaming. Together, we began running programs to Fiji working with Momo Nasokia and his family.
In 2010 we expanded into Timor-Leste, which is an eye-opening, heart wrenching country full of the most inspiring people you’ll ever meet. I honestly knew very little about East Timor prior to this visit other than a friend who was in the Australian Army there during their independence victory. It was honestly one of the most powerful places for young Australians to travel to gain a greater sense of appreciation for life, and education in Australia and how to be happy with very little.
Viva Timor-Leste!
By 2017, Destination Dreaming grew to become the biggest supplier of groups to Timor Leste, using the same model of engagement we learnt from Momo Nasokia. We applied this to all of our programs.
“If you have the ability to travel abroad, you should assume the responsibility to learn first, before making assumptions and or judgements!”
In 2012 we expanded our programs in West Arnhem Land and the local schools there. One of the most spectacular places on earth!
The following year we expanded our programs in Laos, Cambodia and Minjeeriba (North Stradbroke Island).
All of this came to a screeching halt when it was announced in March 2020 that the world was going into lockdowns from the coronavirus. During this time, we mostly thought of the communities we worked with from around the region. It was like the world was in shock. But lucky for us we had a global perspective, we knew what was important, it was our family, our friends, having food, shelter and clean water. We had all these things.....so I guess we were alright.
I honestly didn’t think the lockdowns here in Victoria would last as long as they did and I didn’t think we would actually have to close the business. But in September 2021 we had to close the business which was the first time I cried about the whole thing. Kate got a job with Rip Curl working in social impact and supply chains. I was fortunate to get a job with Worn Gundidj Aboriginal Co-operative as their Business Development Manager working across tourism, horticulture and bush foods. That contract ended in the middle of 2023. Then the opportunity to re-open the doors at Destination Dreaming presented and now, you can’t wipe the smile off my face! 😄
I’m so excited about the next chapter of Destination Dreaming and I’m looking forward to meeting you and sharing amazing experiences on the journey, not just the destination!
If you’ve made it this far, thank you for your interest.
Cheers,
Clint,
Destination Dreaming.
