Back in the 1980’s and 1990’s we had true adventures.
I travelled with Top deck Travel in 1987 as a passenger.
It made such an impression on me that I applied to be a tour manager for the 1988 season which I was unsuccessful.
But they asked so many questions about my life racing sportscars and motocross (tail end charlie, slow in other words) plus also being a motorcycle mechanic that I asked them whether they were after a driver and they said yes!
You get your bus license and come back and see us.
I tried and failed to get my British bus license after trying at least four times?
So I returned home and walked into my old job managing a motorcycle shop but after a few years I had enough of it.
So I left to go learn to drive buses and try to pass my New Zealand bus license.
Had an assessment for 10 minutes, the instructor said I don’t need any more training just a 10 minute refresher and go for your bus license next week!
So the next week we meet up I drove the bus around the block a few times went and then wait for the bus test, 15 minutes later walked out with my bus license.
Then I found out that you can’t just go and drive tour buses New Zealand. You have to have experience so I started driving school buses which wasn’t very well paid and then the end because I wasn’t working full-time. I decided to hop on a plane to the UK again got on a training trip with Top Deck Travel And around Europe for six weeks in the double-decker.
Unfortunately because of all the night driving I was doing. I was so exhausted when I got back to the UK for a debrief/interview that I blew it because I was dozing off. In fact I walked back to where I was staying and fell asleep for 20+ hours!
The lead me to driving for other tour companies and Overland travel companies.
I would’ve loved to have driven London to Kathmandu trips and that was my plan from the start, but somethings don’t work out instead I end up in places like Algeria that was at Civil War at the time.
He is a great movie about the starting up of Top Deck Travel and how we all travelled back then in the 1970s and 80s.
The above link should work if you would like to watch the full hour and 12 minute film of the start of Top Deck Travel.
Unfortunately, the link below is not working at the moment and might not for the coming years.