Dunsborough travel agent JD Chadwick has published his first book, which documents his life on the road as a tour operator for Topdeck Travel.
Deckers, Punters and Dead Ants: Around The World In A Double Decker Bus 1979 – 1983 details Mr Chadwick’s four years of adventures and misadventures around Europe, Asia, the USA and Australia on an old English double decker bus.
Mr Chadwick said he wanted to record his experiences and memories from the halcyon travel days for his son, Thomas.
“He is a similar age to what I was in the book and I wanted him to know what life was like then – it was only meant to be written for him,” he said.
“I had a few people test read it before I gave it to him as a present and they said this has to be published.
“I was initially worried but he knows it was meant for him – he had heard things about the past and had no idea how far afield I went and what I encountered.”
All the tales are based on true events, with some name changes to ‘protect the innocent and the guilty’.
The book describes Mr Chadwick’s experience as an Englishman working for a travel company run by Australians and New Zealanders.
“The first half of the book is me trying to customise myself to Aussie life in my own country,” he said.
“If you like a laugh, it is a good book for that – the era doesn't exist anymore and will never exist again, you would get sued for some of things that happened these days.”
Deckers, Punters and Dead Ants: Around The World In A Double Decker Bus 1979 – 1983 is available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle.
