“I put 40 litres of diesel in it and two new batteries and I said to her if it starts I'll take you home and it started first go,” said Mr Norton.

Over the next 12 years he restored the old bus, inside and out, into a café, gallery and his home, and named it Corazón, which is Spanish for heart.

With the original engine still cranking it’s slow going with the old bus only reaching a maximum of 45 kilometres per hour, but Mr Norton loves the experience.

“I get to make coffee and talk to people all day and when I go to bed at night I’m happy,” he said.

He added that while he personally hasn’t been affected by having a sick loved one, people shouldn’t wait for a reason to do good things.

“I really believe that we shouldn't be waiting for a catalyst to go out and be the change we want to see in the world,” he said.

“If we waited for someone to get sick before we started helping people then we're going to end up with heaps of sick people.”

Mr Norton said he picked the charity Eli’s Gift because it's 100 per cent non-for-profit with all proceeds going to struggling families.

“I was originally going to do it for one of the bigger charity organisations but they weren't 100 per cent money-in-money-out and I wanted to make sure the money that I was putting my heart and work into was actually making it out to families.”

Eli's Gift started when a family lost their young son, Eli, to a respiratory disease and realised they and other families in similar positions couldn’t get the help they needed.

Now Mr Norton is not only raising money for them but also spreading the word.

After another few days in Port Douglas at the BIG4 Caravan Park Mr Norton and Corazón will travel to the Atherton Tablelands before continuing their journey around Australia.

To find out more about Mr Norton’s journey or to donate to Eli's Gift visit www.twiceasnice.com.au, follow Twice as Nice Gallery Café on Facebook and Instagram or donate directly to elisgift.org.au.