Dusty's Bus

[Dusty]

A couple of random pics from travels on the road,

Traction engine , going somewhere , near Rangiora.



Some guy taking his DC3 out for a test flight . That sounded SO cool. (Ashburton)

[jsthyme]

Hi Dusty - your bus is awesome & I love that stove what kind is it? & where did you find it ? Something like that would be perfect for my dream bus - cook tasty things & stay warm at the same time who could ask for more!

Joanne

[Dusty]

Joanne , the range is a 'Shipmate' , very similar to the Shacklock Orion.

It has a 1cu ft oven. It is nickel plated , perhaps for marine use, though much of that has darkened off over the years .

[Dennis The Bus Dweller]

Joanne

These are a little smaller and a little pricey but really nice stoves. http://www.marinestove.com/halibutinfo.htm

[dburt]

Dusty, I like those stained glass windows also, gives it an old fashioned feel!

[Dusty]

Thanks db, I enjoyed making them, I agree it adds character and makes the view interesting too.

I took the truck to Hanmer Springs , there is a nice little bridge over the Hanmer river, and as it was winter , a little white stuff on the hills ,, actually it was -7 C in the morning , so a little chilly to be camping in the back of the truck .
But such is life , when you gotta do things.

On the Bridge.



On the bridge , looking up to the Hanmer Basin.





Looking back towards the bridge .

[Jones'n4chrome]

Thanks for the pics Dusty, by the looks of all the pics in NZ, I'm beginning to believe the grass IS greener on the other side.

[dburt]

Those pics remind me of the mountains in NE Oregon in the Pacific Northwest. I think I like NZ!!

[jsthyme]

Thanks Dennis - Those stoves are sweet now if I could just find one hiding in someone's shed....... well gotta find my bus first
Joanne

[Dusty]

I'll just slip back in time a bit here , to a trip to the North Island. We joined the gypsy fair for a summer.

A time of distinct contrasts.

We gathered Friday night at a local spot , usually near a river, where there was room for us , then did a slow drive thru the main street of the small town we were going to set up at.

Then Saturday and Sunday , we did the market , and during the following week , we went and hid some where , to "replenish stock".

So here we are heading into town, total House trucks this weekend 150 .

This pic is really bad grainy 'cause I copied it out of the local paper then.



And during the week we found that we were able to park near central Auckland , right on the waterfront , overlooking the harbour bridge and the million dollar yachts , for free, LOL .

Behind us is the 'tank farm' (fuel tanks) which no one wanted to be near

[splummer]

love all the pics, thanks for showing dusty, any more on the gypsy fair.. steve

[Dusty]

I just remembered a story about "Diamond Lil" the Leyland 1/2 cab at the front of the lineup.

When I was about 5yrs old , I remember traveling in it , from Karori to the Cable Car terminus. It was a really steep part of Wellington and the bus was in low gear, I was really worried that maybe the bus would not make it up the hill .

This must have made a real impression on me as a kid 'cause I remember it so clearly , the roar of the engine , the whine of the gears......

Later ...

The current owner worked on this bus as a 16yr old apprentice motor mechanic, now he lives in it! (He did all the conversion / loft etc).

[Dusty]

Steve , I have to scan the photo album to get more pics of that period, need to be in the right head space to do that , (bit of a technophobe really). .

Such are the challenges of life, eh.

[Dusty]

Small town humor (Kurow) father and mother Xmas ... we had just crossed the Waitaki River at the Kurow bridge , minutes later the bridge was closed and minutes after that , the flooded river took away the bridge access and the big saw mill and all the stock, on the north bank.




A nice spot by the Waimakariri River ...

[Dusty]

A couple of pics of some old history , from when I first got the bus.

Whitecliffs Music festival , 1991, a glimpse in the bus paddock. It was a great festival , about 3500 people , the family paddock was nice , the communial showers were , hmmm , liberating ... the teens paddock was rough!



Later , to relax from all the crowd , We parked on Flintoffs Farm, he used about 200 acres of the Waiau river flats as light grazing , it was lovely and quiet and the willows offered much needed shade.