Dunedin man Don Saxton watched his new home-to-be going up in flames yesterday just an hour or so after he paid $16,500 for the house bus.
A isolating switch handle is all that remains intact of the 1963 Leyland Leopard.
He bought it in Cromwell and was heading home, planning to park it on some coastal land he owns at Osborne, while he developed the section.
Driving halfway between Alexandra and Chatto Creek, on State Highway 85, he saw a little bit of smoke coming out of the vehicle's exhaust.
"It wasn't very much but I kept my eye on it and thought I might be lucky and that might be all it was.
"All of a sudden there were a couple of flames by the cupboard inside."
He parked on the side of the road, tried the fire extinguisher from the vehicle, which was empty, and then flagged down the next motorist, asking for a "fire extinguisher or some water".
Driver Brendon O'Reilly, of Queenstown, could only offer a bottle of drinking water but the fire took hold quickly and Mr Saxton shut the doors, hoping to contain the smoke.
The bus was right next to a farm water race, but Mr Saxton had nothing to cart the water in.
As the brakelines burnt, the bus rolled backwards across the road, ending up on the opposite side.
Before long the vehicle was engulfed in flames and two fire crews, one each from Alexandra and Omakau volunteer fire brigades, attended the blaze, with the Dunstan rural unit as a backup.
The highway was closed for more than an hour and Station Officer Derek Shaw, of Alexandra, said the crews were able to pump water directly from the water race.
"Conditions are getting dry but fortunately it wasn't too dry yet, or with all the vegetation around, the fire would have spread to the surrounding land," he said.
Mr Saxton was unsure of the cause of the fire but was told a bird's nest on the manifold was a possibility.
The bus was uninsured and he had planned to deregister the vehicle once it was parked on his property.
The 53-year-old wharfie had been through an uncertain time recently with redundancies at work, but had retained his job.
The vehicle was already converted into a house bus, complete with kitchen, shower and toilet and he was looking forward to using it as his "abode".
"It's got too much ventilation now, though," he said joking.
Mr Saxton was thankful he escaped the blaze unharmed and said buying a fire extinguisher was top priority, as well as having a cold beer later to celebrate his lucky escape.
