Wheels on the bus no longer go round
It was an adventure gone wrong for one unlucky pair who got their vintage bus stuck in the sand at Oreti Beach on Thursday.
Jeff Leeden, and his 18-year-old nephew John Leeden, got his 1964 VAL Bedford bus stuck in the sand on Oreti Beach, near Invercargill, but after about five hours the pair were rescued by Auto Salvage Invercargill.
Jeff said the pair were driving slowly along the beach near the sand dunes when this much-loved bus, Chubby Cheeks, got stuck in the soft sand.
‘‘A couple of great blokes’’ and other passers-by stopped to help, or just have a look, but the vehicle wouldn’t budge, he said.
The pair who were visiting from Melbourne for the Bluff Oyster Festival had a laugh at their misfortune as they attempted to dig the bus, which was about half a wheel deep, free.
‘‘This has probably added to the adventure,’’ Jeff said.
John said he was not concerned about the tide coming in and getting bogged.
‘‘I had a feeling this would happen,’’ he said. ‘‘I’d be happy to stay here [overnight].’’
For his first time overseas John was after some adventure anyway, he said.
When the pair realised they were stuck, they tried digging themselves free and used sheets of plywood but it did not help.
Even a passer-by with a Jeep tried to pull them free, it budged a little, but that was it.
Auto Salvage recovery special- ist Melvin Butler said this certainly was not the first time he had been called to the beach.
It happened up to five times a week, he said.
And while this was the first time he had come to the rescue of a bus, he had seen plenty of motor homes bogged in the sand.
The most common rescues were cars and a lot of calls about 1am, Butler said.
Drivers need to be better educated on how and where to drive on the beach, he said. People should drive on the sand closer to the water or stay in the entrance, because further up the beach the soft sand was where people often got caught, he said.