If you’ve travelled through Taupo at any time during the past fourteen years, most likely you will have seen the big bright red Double Decker Bus rolling through the town showing visitors what a vibrate and interesting place Taupo is to explore & relax in. The 1951 Bristol low bridge Double Decker Bus was built in England and put into service for Wilts & Dorset Motor Service, in the South of England. No one would have ever dreamed that the Bristol bus would clock up an such an amazing history. After spending nineteen years in service the Bristol was sold to a group of five young people planning a world overland bus tour. They converted the bus into a mobile home, and calling themselves the Overland Five, departed England in late 1970. The group travelled through Russia where they were thought to be spies and forced to leave, and on through Eastern Europe, Greece and Turkey. In Turkey the bus was forced to a stand still with a broken differential, it was Christmas time, snowing and bitterly cold. After a replacement diff was brought in from England the tour continued. On some nights it was so cold that the bus was kept running to prevent the mechanics freezing by jacking the back wheels up off the ground and leaving the bus in first gear with the wheels turning. As the Overland Five moved on they left the cold weather behind and travelled on through India to Kathmandu, Nepal, where no other double decker bus had ventured before. It was no easy going, having to travel through rivers and over rough terrain to reach their destination. Imagine the locals reaction to this big red Double Decker Bus travelling down their dusty streets. It was like a magnet to the curious villagers. The tour then moved on to Calcutta, India, where the Bristol would be shipped to Fremantle, Australia. The Overland Five took a break in Perth for nine months to work. After travelling around Australia, the bus was again put on a ship, destined for New Zealand. It was late 1973 when the bus arrived and three years had passed since the Overland Five and the bus left England. Some members of the group had quit the tour along the way and others had joined. After exploring both islands of NZ the question of weather to continue with the tour was raised. Considering the high cost of shipping the Double Decker Bus to South America, which was to be the next leg of the journey, the decision was made to abandon the tour and sell the Bristol.

The bus was sold to Len Prager originally from the US, he converted the bus into an information exchange centre. He travelled around NZ promoting and gathering information on alternative life styles, which was government sponsored. Ten years later the bus was then sold to Stewart Bryant of Christchurch, he used it as a sales centre and travelled around NZ selling the World Book Encyclopaedia. After ten years with Stuart the bus was again sold and for a short time converted into a Mobile Diner based in Lower Hutt. In 1994 the Double Decker Bus arrived in Taupo, having been converted back to a passenger bus. The Double Decker Bus seats 43 passengers and offers tours of Taupo and is available for private hire, including weddings, anniversaries, reunions, birthdays, restaurant transfers and transport to any of Taupo’s many attractions. Mervin Church an original member of the Overland Five visited the Bristol bus in Taupo a few years back, for the first time since quitting the tour. A huge grin and a hug for the bus’s driver revealed that Mervin was visiting an old friend. The Overland Five reunite annually to celebrate and remember their amazing journey by Double Decker Bus half way around the world.