On Monday 16th June, 2014, to be precise. It’s big, it’s loud, it’s (mostly) rust-free, and it is the PERFECT vehicle to take our family on the road for our 18 month bus around Australia adventure.
For those interested in the technical details: It’s a 1987 Mercedes 1621 Coach with a Denning body, in a fetching green and cream exterior, with (see below) an extraordinary brown and orange patterned interior. It’s 11 metres long, designed to seat 49 passengers, and has a 210hp diesel engine. We bought it from Heatherbrae, just down the road from Stargazer RV Conversions – the company who are doing the fitout.
Note: There aren’t many “detail” shots in this photo essay – mostly because we realised that we were running late for school and daycare pickups, and had to rush back to Sydney! I’ll take more photos on our next visit and keep you posted. I did, at least, get a shot of the keys:
It was a really surreal experience. For most of the two or three days afterwards, Belinda and I were walking around the house in shock, having repetitive conversations along the lines of:
“We bought a bus.”
“Yep, we bought a bus.”
“We bought a BUS!!!”
It was exactly like those “Jeep” ads on TV. It still feels a bit surreal, but it certainly makes us feel like our next big adventure of travelling Australia is closer than ever.
If you haven’t heard what we’re up to, be sure to read this post by my wife Bel on The Root Cause website.
As promised, here are a couple of shots of the amazing brown and orange interior… Oh, the 80’s. The decade that fashion, music, and taste forgot…
About a week prior to buying the bus, I qualified for my Heavy Vehicle Drivers Licence, so I was legally allowed to take the bus for a spin around the block. Rego was “questionable” so I didn’t get a chance to try her on the freeway, but I’m sure she’s up to the challenge, and I don’t think we’ll be in a huge hurry anyway.
Here’s a shot of me driving, taken by Bel from the passenger seat. (My camera was set to not auto-focus, hence the subtle blurriness…)
And finally, like proud parents, here are some more shots of the outside of the bus. We love her, and we can’t wait to get the fitout started!
