01
Bus pick up and license
I bought the bus unseen and without a Class 2 licence. Not only did I take a risk with the purchase but I took a risk that I could fly up, do my license first time and drive back to Wellington all in a weekend.
It was a bit of a fluke getting my licence, the guy who I bought the bus from is a HT licence trainer. He made time for me to do my licence while I was up in Auckland and I stayed in the bus outside his house. I did the course with a couple drain layers at their site, we ran through the workbooks (doing logbooks, learning about fatigue etc.) in a freezing shed/canteen before each of us doing the driving part.
John and Lesley were so hospitable for my stay up in Auckland, they welcomed me in for dinner, breakfast and for tea/coffee. We had a few wines in the evenings and talked about the ins and outs of the bus, and their new motorhome and got to know a bit about each others lives.
The bus was a labour of love for John, you can tell he has put a lot of time into it over the years and he's done a good job.
I think I'll be keeping in contact with John, hes a good sort and I'm sure I'll have questions for him in the near future.