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BRITCOM III
  • 2 days ago

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00:01This time on Outback Truckers.
00:05Bad weather coming.
00:06Road's gonna turn to shit.
00:08But we can't turn back now.
00:09Santa Claus is coming to town.
00:13Now I've got to get across this ferry.
00:16What's going on here?
00:18We've got nothing here, no brakes to hold us on here.
00:23If we don't have money coming in the next two days,
00:25then we're gonna look like a bit of an arse.
00:30We've got something going on back there.
00:33I only see some smoke.
00:36Hey, there goes the tire.
00:39Shit.
00:41Good to see New Zealand's no different to home.
00:43Your dipshits past and your power's coming towards you.
00:49Shit, here's a tunnel.
00:52They don't give you much room, do they?
00:54Jeez.
01:01It's the first bit of a hurdle here.
01:03We've got to get up over Hell's Gate.
01:06Punch him into it as hard as we can at the moment.
01:11I'll just go start a constant break here a bit.
01:13Now we're doing what we didn't want to do.
01:29We're slipping.
01:31We're slipping.
01:39We can't get traction on this hill.
01:44We're in a world of pain.
01:48A world of the North Queensland.
01:50We had everything going pretty right for us and went into the lowest gear.
01:54But I think we're just a bit heavy.
01:58Jim Foodie has come to a shuddering halt on his mission to be the last road train into his hometown Bamaga in time for Christmas.
02:06We're pulling a triple up to Bamaga, about 130 tonne.
02:11We've got two heavy isotoners of cement powder.
02:15We've got a hell of amount of freight, small stuff, chucked into the mix as well.
02:20You've got people trying to send Christmas presents up to families and things up there.
02:24Foodie has already travelled 288 kilometres from Cairns towards his destination Bamaga, but has met his match on the notorious Hell's Gate Pass.
02:37Right now every break I've got is locked on to keep it on the hill.
02:41This is part of what our problem is, the bitumen is bleeding here.
02:45What's happening, we can't get traction in that and the stone's all pressed down in it.
02:50What we'll do is leave this trailer behind and see if we can get going with those two.
02:56But we may have, we may have difficulty even with that.
03:00Righto, I'm going to attempt to take off.
03:05Get a bit full head of steam up here.
03:11Yeah, we've got about 130 tonnes, we're dropping about 40 odd tonnes.
03:16So we might just be able to get going.
03:20What we've got to do now is take this through to somewhere up here where I can get off the road with it.
03:42Well, big mate, there's a trailer on the hill back there, eh, over the other side.
03:54Nah, that's a trap.
03:56You don't like leaving, your trailer's parked in the middle of a busy road, so we'd better scurry back out here and get the bloody things.
04:08Righto, we're in Laura at the moment.
04:10So, yeah, righto, this is all going to happen pretty quick and we'll get back and get that trailer.
04:19There we go.
04:22Righto, we're just going to pull forward a little bit.
04:24Yeah, we've got to go back and get our other trailer and bring it up to there.
04:31But then we're back in one piece.
04:34So, yeah, a bit of fun at games.
04:36All right.
04:37I'll investigate the scene of the crime.
04:45Yeah, I reckon if I shot in that quarry there, I might be able to back the entry in the corner.
04:50It's taking a nice and steady, hubby.
05:09We're lading the scene of the crime.
05:11All we've got to do now is turn around and hook onto that dolly and we go on.
05:24There we go, we've got a lot.
05:26We're back to a triple.
05:27We're on our first bit of dirt, we've got water at the table graves, but the surface is dry and dusty.
05:43So, there's been a bit of rain, but very minimal by the look of it.
05:47We've just got to hope that they don't get major rains and flooding.
05:52Heading north, loaded with freight and Christmas presents, brings added risk for this outback Santa.
06:00December in tropical far north Queensland is cyclone season.
06:05We definitely don't want to be up there and caught behind that because we may not be able to get out for four months.
06:10So, we'd have our trucks trapped.
06:12We need the trucks to, you know, keep a dollar turning.
06:15We're coming right down to the wire.
06:17There's no time left.
06:18It's us or nothing.
06:19We're starting to see a little bit of build up in the distance now.
06:24So, you know, it could come in and rain here and you can't travel.
06:29You can't move. It's all over.
06:31You don't want to be stuck up here.
06:35It's getting a little bit wetter as we go north.
06:38I definitely didn't want to see this.
06:39We're just running into a shower of rain here and we've got some big jump ups.
06:50We've got a couple of steep little inclines to get up and it's all dirt.
06:53And we're just going to have to try and absolutely get some pace up here.
07:10We're on a dead drag now.
07:12So, what are we allowed time-wise before break?
07:23Before we know.
07:24Oh, so, same as that.
07:25Sounds good.
07:26Oh, well, I think we're ready to go, are we?
07:28Yeah.
07:29Paul Sludge Andrews has come back to the land of his birth, New Zealand, to do a job for
07:35his mate, Ricky Rogers.
07:37Here we go.
07:39Bit shiny badge right here with the swan.
07:42There's no skull on this.
07:43I'm not happy.
07:46This is a bit flash, this thing.
07:51So, this is Kenworth SAR, the limited edition, 50th anniversary.
07:57It's less than a year old.
07:59Yeah, it's new.
08:00A lot of years since I've driven a new truck now.
08:04And this is, yeah, half a million dollars' worth of truck.
08:06So, I don't want to scratch it or I don't want to break it.
08:09I'm just here to help Ricky out and do a good job.
08:16Ah, we're in the blinkers.
08:18Oh, now.
08:20Today we're running a structure for a new building in Auckland.
08:24So, this is about 40 tonne of steel beams.
08:26From Ricky's yard in Christchurch, Sludge will head north for 342 kilometres through the South
08:35Island's narrow, winding and mountainous roads to get to Picton, where he must catch the ferry
08:41across the Cook Strait.
08:43From Wellington, he will then cross most of the North Island to reach his destination near Auckland.
08:49We've got to be in Auckland tomorrow and it's got to be there early, so I can't miss the ferry.
08:57If you miss the ferry, you're in deep shit.
09:02We're just coming on two years now since my accident.
09:05Finance-wise, it's been a big hit on our pockets.
09:08A motorcycle accident near his home in Western Australia left Sludge with life-threatening injuries.
09:17I broke both legs, three bleeds on the brain.
09:20This accident's changed my perspective a lot.
09:24Before starting his trucking job in New Zealand, Sludge took the opportunity to reconnect with his roots.
09:31This was a family business Dad started and built it all here.
09:38We used to fly down the helicopter, come down with Dad and he had a helipad on top of the office block.
09:44We've since sold it on and the company still runs it as Andrews Transport to this day.
09:50A lot of memories come back, a lot of good memories, a lot of sad memories.
09:54Dad was, um, one of the trucks here killed him.
10:00Pinned him up against the loading ramp and squashed his chest.
10:05I was about 13 or 14.
10:08I suppose it doesn't offer, I've followed the truck line, so just because he was killed with a truck didn't make me stop.
10:14Um, and I suppose, you know, I got the truck passion from Dad.
10:18Things are a bit quiet at home at the moment.
10:23Ricky, he owns Mal-X, rang me and asked me if I wanted to come over, he's just got heaps of stuff on.
10:29So, this was quite a good opportunity to get over here and see the kids.
10:33I've got two kids, Brady's 32 or three and Jamie's 30-odd, and they both got kids now.
10:39I thought I'd live forever, but I've had a big scare, and I don't want the kids growing up without me like I did without my father.
10:48My body's good now.
10:50I still walk with a walking stick sometimes, but my brain's still got a long way to go.
10:54F***ing hell.
11:08F***ing hell.
11:12Good to see New Zealand's no different to home.
11:15Your dipshit's passing you with cars coming towards you, and if I hadn't have slowed down, somebody would have got squashed.
11:21We're just coming into the Hunterley Rangers now, heading towards Picton.
11:29You can run off a hill here real easy.
11:32I've just got to be super careful, and it slows you down too.
11:36But I can't afford to not get to the ferry, because that'll put it a day behind.
11:41Oh!
11:48There we go.
11:49Hey, that was hard work.
11:56Shit, here's a tunnel. This is interesting.
12:08They don't give you much room, do they?
12:09Here.
12:19Do you want to go grab a re-sip saw and a grinder and start shaving all the sides?
12:23I'll meet you out there.
12:24Yeah, easy.
12:25We're in Boringarra at the moment, dead centre in the Gascoigne.
12:31We got called out to do about a hundred cars from Boringarra here, out of the tip, and from people's houses.
12:36Car recycler Mike Elliott and his 17-year-old son Vinnie are on another mission to salvage wrecked cars from a remote community.
12:46We pay for all these cars, and we've taken all of our motors and diffs and the gearboxes and stuff, everything that's good for us.
12:56He gets paid twice on the cars because the metal recyclers come through.
12:59In previous years, the metal recyclers wouldn't come to communities like this because the cars are all spread out all over the community in different places.
13:08We go and pick them all up, we bring them into one spot, and then when we stack them up, they're ready for recycling.
13:16We just trim it all so it all fits within the trailer.
13:19Before this, we were just bloody renting trailers.
13:23But in December, we went and bought out a double set, and we got it at 80 grand.
13:27Then we probably put another 10 into both trailers.
13:30Not cheap.
13:31Not cheap.
13:33So almost about 100 grand down in a hole.
13:35We're trying to make that money back with Boringa, so we're doing so much bloody volume.
13:41We've got our own road train set up now.
13:43We're pretty happy about.
13:44It cost us a hell of a lot, though, so we're straight back out to work.
13:49I've sort of planned that we'll have money coming in in the next two days.
13:52If we don't, then I'm going to look like a bit of an arse when I ring up everyone telling me,
13:57your money's going to be late, you know?
13:59I'll hate that crap.
14:06Chopping!
14:16This is the fun part, where you actually get to watch the car completely split in half.
14:21Let's go.
14:22Let's go.
14:23Load it up.
14:24That's it.
14:25All right.
14:26Let's rock them off.
14:27Which plane are we taking?
14:28Down Cobra Creek through Dairy Creek.
14:29Oh, nice.
14:301,000 kilometres of dirt and then 400 kilometres of bitumen to get back to Perth.
14:31To cash in their car parts, the father-son crashed.
14:32That's it.
14:33That's it.
14:34All right.
14:35Let's rock them off.
14:36Which plane are we taking?
14:37Down Cobra Creek through Dairy Creek.
14:38Oh, nice.
14:391,000 kilometres of dirt and then 400 kilometres of bitumen to get back to Perth.
14:44To cash in their car parts, the father-son crew must haul their load up to East Lyons River
14:51before heading south through the heart of the Gascoigne and Murchison districts.
14:56Then they hit the bitumen for the final push to Perth.
15:13How bloody good does that rock look, eh?
15:17The white fella's name is Mount Augustus, but Yamajee people call it Boorongarra, Australia's
15:26largest rock.
15:27You can drive for like half an hour and still not be anywhere near the end of it.
15:40We've seen a few puddles around today.
15:42I just want to know if the road's closed or not.
15:45We've got a tropical cyclone that's been brewing.
15:48There's been electrical storms at night.
15:50You just don't know what you're in for.
15:52You know, they could close behind you and in front of you.
15:54You don't know.
15:55You can get stuck somewhere two or three days at a time.
16:04What do you reckon with that?
16:06Diff logs hit a couple of creeper gears and try and walk up it.
16:10Yeah.
16:11All right.
16:12If we get stuck, we're breaking them down.
16:14Yeah.
16:15And we're pulling weight.
16:21Your heart's in your throat because you know that if you stop or you make a mistake, it
16:24can be expensive and it can be time consuming.
16:27My heart pumps like biting my neck every time we do a jump up like this.
16:37Come on, lady girl.
16:38Come on, lady girl.
16:39Come on, lady girl.
16:40Come on, lady girl.
16:41Come on, lady girl.
16:46Come on.
16:47Come on.
16:48Got a dead drag now.
16:51We've made it.
16:53I thought we'd lose traction there somewhere, but just at the last critical moment the road dried a little bit there.
17:10Foodie is racing the impending tropical wet season, desperate to be the last road train before Christmas into Bamaga before an oncoming cyclone turns the roads into impassable boggy streams.
17:27This is a very mixed load.
17:28We've got two isolated cement powder.
17:30We've got a 50 tonne excavator sitting here.
17:33We've got cool rooms.
17:34We've got Christmas presents.
17:36We've got pipes.
17:37Santa Claus looks like Kim food here tomorrow, but he's the only one that's going to get up here in time for Christmas.
17:43We've made the bitumen now.
17:44We've got 40 k's bitumen in McCullen.
17:45And that's where I'm going to vault in.
17:46And that's it for the night.
17:47I know.
17:48It's time for a bit.
17:49I'm tired and buggered.
17:50I've been awake since Christmas went.
17:51I had a couple of cans of beer made and that'd be the best sleeping tablet I've ever seen.
18:16I couldn't have a shower last night.
18:23The rain was too bloody cold to get out and have a shower in.
18:26So, yeah, I could do with a tub and a bath and a bit of a clean up.
18:31Our main goal here at the moment is to try and get to the ferry.
18:35They'll shut the ferry down at five o'clock.
18:37We've got 400 k's to get to the ferry and 11 hours to do it in.
18:42That seems like an easy, easy thing to do, but believe me, it ain't going to be bloody easy.
18:47We're going to have to work our ass off today to try and get there at that time.
18:51I know.
18:52We've had a bit over 50 millimetres of rain last night.
19:08The road's a bit dodgy this morning.
19:12What the hell have we got here?
19:21Hey, Jim.
19:22Yeah, mate, what's happening?
19:24We're going this way.
19:26Yeah, I'm going the wrong way, aren't I?
19:29Yeah.
19:30Yeah, I've got to try and get out before that rain depression kicks in, eh?
19:34So that'll be me scattering out in a couple of days.
19:37OK.
19:38They said something about Monday is coming in.
19:40That's about when I'm getting there, so I'll see how we go.
19:47Didn't really want to hear that.
19:49They're a bit surprised I'm going in.
19:51Unless it's going to make life pretty bloody interesting.
19:54If he's right, the sign of a tropical depression when he's coming in is exactly this sort of build-up.
20:01Tropical depressions are the first formation of cyclones.
20:06Tons of heavy rain.
20:08It wouldn't take very much to traverse at all, like on this road.
20:12If we can't turn back now, it's Bamagurur bus, this one.
20:16Right now, we're coming into the Jardine roadworks job by Golf Civil.
20:31Somewhere up here, they'll want these pipes.
20:35Yeah, you got me there, Golf Civil.
20:37I've got these pipes here for you.
20:38Where do you want them?
20:39Up near the camp.
20:41Yeah, I'm in the camp.
20:42Find him.
20:43I'll bring him over.
20:44Find him, mate.
20:45We're going to start busting up a road train.
20:50The load has just arrived to get up there and get those pipes.
20:55They've decided these lower ones just to give them a bit of a nudge,
20:58and they're going to just come down.
21:00So, they're cool.
21:02Let's see what happens.
21:04If they rupture into a million bits, I'm going to be very disappointed.
21:08Not a problem.
21:13Hey, unload them.
21:14Now one's going to fly out.
21:15You've got to go up that ladder and just roll him, mate.
21:28Thanks, we got it.
21:29Pretty thankful those guys just got them off quick for me.
21:31Now I've got to get across this ferry.
21:33The most weight for the ferry is 42.5 and we're 42.5.
21:34It's only a little ferry when we go on there.
21:35It's going to sink it a bit.
21:36The ferry will be grounded, and I've got to run for it.
21:39It's only a little ferry when we go on there.
21:40It's going to sink it a bit.
21:41The ferry will be grounded, and I've got to run forwards and see them the brakes come back.
21:42It's a risky, high-precision manoeuvre.
21:43It's a risky, high-precision manoeuvre.
21:44It's going to sink it a bit.
21:45The ferry will be grounded, and I've got to run forwards and see them the brakes come back.
21:48And now I've got to get across this ferry.
21:50The most weight for the ferry is 42.5 and we're 42.5.
21:56It's only a little ferry when we go on there.
21:59It's going to sink it a bit.
22:02The ferry will be grounded, and I've got to run forwards and see them the brakes come back.
22:08It's a risky, high-precision manoeuvre.
22:11Foodie needs enough speed that the truck's momentum pushes the ferry off the bank when he jams on the brakes.
22:18They've lost trucks off the end of it.
22:20Their truck ends up out in the middle of the Jardine River, and I really wouldn't like that.
22:28What's going on here?
22:32We've got nothing here, no brakes to f***ing hold us on here.
22:41Come on, dirty girl.
22:47If we don't make it up this hill, we're going to be forced to break the road train down.
22:51Holy s***.
22:53Come on, dirty girl.
22:58We're good.
23:00Vinny and I have been caught on some really big ones before.
23:03To break the rig down and detach the trailers and run them up one at a time,
23:06we could lose half a day there on that hill.
23:09Mike Elliott and his 17-year-old son, Vinny, are hauling a heavy load of car parts,
23:15salvaged from a remote community over 1,000 kilometres from their destination, Perth.
23:22We're going pretty good.
23:23We're doing about 55, 60 k's an hour.
23:25I'm just glad that we're on the road.
23:27When you spend two weeks chopping at 40-plus, it comes a nightmare.
23:33People love to have a sook and a complain when things get hard.
23:37My dad...
23:39My dad is...
23:40...is worse than the teachers.
23:42Oh!
23:43My dad doesn't care if it's 44 degrees, like 200 flies in my eyeballs.
23:50He'll still tell me what I'm doing wrong.
23:55He nailed it.
23:56Yeah, he nailed it.
23:57This time of the evening, just around dusk, you've got to look out for animals on the boat.
24:07Now, here we've got a little skippy.
24:10You've got to be careful with these buggers, because they'll jump beside the truck at 20 metres,
24:15and they'll jump straight into the truck.
24:17They're just bloody stupid.
24:18Yeah, so we've got another kangaroo just up here.
24:22F*** off. F*** off!
24:30Just pulled up Derry Creek Station.
24:32We're looking at spending the night here.
24:37Too lovely!
24:38Good day.
24:39Good day.
24:55We've still got 400 k's of dirt.
24:57Yeah.
24:58If we could make it off the dirt today, I'd be stoked.
24:59I'd be so happy.
25:00How wicked would that be?
25:01I've just turned 17.
25:02I'm just trying to rack up my licence as quick as possible, you know, so I can continue helping
25:10my dad out.
25:11After that, I should be able to go to a mini, more heavy, rigid, and it'd be good.
25:16Instead of taking one truck out, we can take two out.
25:18But yeah, we're getting there.
25:19We're getting there.
25:20We're getting there.
25:24Parmy and Paul tonight.
25:26Oh.
25:27Oh, you're speaking my language.
25:29We're just pulling into Mullawa now, which is the end of the gravel.
25:34So, uh, bitumen all the way to Perth now.
25:37We'll be punching on about another 100 k's before we pull up for the night for a bit
25:41of pool and parmigiana.
25:48The reason Vinnie is with me is because he was really struggling in school.
25:52He was more of a hands-on kid, you know.
25:54In his spare time, he'd be building cars, he'd be building the engines.
25:58That's the case.
25:59Treat it like a trade apprenticeship.
26:01In the next three to four years, he's going to have a dealer's licence, MC licence,
26:06truck licence.
26:07And then this kid comes up with some of the most ingenious inventions sometimes.
26:11Well, I can't wait to see what he comes up with.
26:14Just pulled into Mingenew.
26:15This is where we're stopping for the night.
26:16When and when are Parmy dinners?
26:17Oh, I grew it.
26:18It's our last bloody day of the trip.
26:19You don't really want much to go wrong on your last day.
26:20You know, it's like you're that close.
26:21So, hopefully it's all smooth and dandy.
26:22Hopefully it's all smooth and dandy.
26:23It's our last bloody day of the trip.
26:24You don't really want much to go wrong on your last day.
26:28You know, it's like you're that close.
26:29So, hopefully it's all smooth and dandy.
26:35What is going on there?
26:36Let's go!
26:37We are all right.
26:38Okay, let's go!
26:43It's our last bloody day of the trip.
26:44You don't really want much to go wrong on your last day.
26:46You know, it's like you're that close, so, you know, hopefully it's all smooth and dandy.
26:52What the hell?
27:01Brakes just come on.
27:02Oh, what the...
27:03What's going on there?
27:04Let's go. Let's work it out.
27:16They don't give you much room, do they?
27:18Jesus!
27:25Sludge has just two hours to make the ferry
27:28to the North Island of New Zealand
27:30without putting a scratch on the half-a-million-dollar truck
27:33he's been given to drive.
27:35These tunnels are really narrow.
27:37You've probably only got a couple of foot out each side if you're lucky.
27:43But the view, you come round that corner and it's just so picturesque.
27:47It's bloody. Holy shit.
27:49It makes me appreciate life.
27:52After almost dying in a motorbike crash,
27:55Sludge is using this opportunity in New Zealand
27:58to work and reconnect with family.
28:01This is probably the stuff that I need to do more of.
28:05And I'm still making money.
28:07You don't realise life's short until you've had something,
28:10the big accident like I've had.
28:12Now I actually realise how short life could have been.
28:15And my kids could have grown up without a father too,
28:19like I grew up without a father too,
28:21like I grew up without a father.
28:22So, you know, I'm lucky.
28:23I've got a reprieve to have another go.
28:29We're just coming into Picton now,
28:32where we climb on the ferry to go to Wellington.
28:36She's narrow.
28:37Just keep it an eye.
28:38I don't sideswipe anything.
28:41Well, there we go.
28:42We've made the ferry.
28:43Oh, that was a bit nerve-wracking.
28:45We're going to be on the ship for two or three hours.
29:00Got my bloody walking stick out.
29:03It just helps me with my balance
29:05and keeps me from tripping over stuff.
29:19They're just dropping a door now on the ferry.
29:21We'll be on our way.
29:24The 12-hour journey over land and sea
29:26has pushed Sludge to his limit.
29:29He needs to find the nearest truck stop
29:31before taking on the next 605 kilometres to Auckland.
29:35We've parked up to the 9th,
29:37around the back of the Caltechs.
29:38So we've got to get some miles in tomorrow
29:39because we've got to get up there and get unloaded.
29:49We're on the North Island now,
29:51heading up to Drury,
29:52which is where we've got to unload the steel.
29:54Ah, here we go.
29:55We've got road closed signs.
30:04So this is the detour that I've got to take
30:09through the National Park.
30:11They must be doing road works or something up here.
30:13Whoop!
30:14Jesus, there's the curb.
30:15I've never been through here,
30:17and they say it's quite hilly and windy
30:19and a bit slower.
30:21So add an hour or so onto our schedules,
30:24that's a pain in the arse.
30:27We've got to get through to Auckland and get unloaded.
30:29It's nerve-racking trying to be there on time.
30:32Holy shit!
30:35We're in a 100 zone,
30:36and they just slapped brakes on right in front of us.
30:41What the hell?
30:46Brakes just come on.
30:51Oh, what the ?
30:53I can hear the aeroscaping.
30:56We just had all the air drop in the trailers.
31:05Basically, once this airline detaches,
31:07all the brakes will come on in the trailer.
31:10Clamp's just given up just on the inside,
31:13and that's why I can't get a tight seal on there.
31:16That's all right.
31:17We carry heaps of spares.
31:18A detached hose has brought Mike and Vinnie
31:21to a screeching halt.
31:23Truck and trailer brakes use compressed air,
31:26but if the system loses all pressure,
31:28a spring is released as a fail-safe
31:31that automatically engages the brakes.
31:36Leave it done.
31:37Done, done, all good.
31:42Back on the road for an uneventful day.
31:45Straight into Perth, no dramas.
31:48You know, it's quite hard pulling this kind of weight,
31:54trying to keep steady on this narrow, winding, bouncy road.
31:59You know, you can't see what's coming up around the corner.
32:01If you're hammering down a hill at 90 and just around the corner
32:05there's a tractor or something like that,
32:07mate, there's got to be issues, I guarantee.
32:13All right, we've got something going on back there.
32:15I can see some smoke.
32:18That doesn't look good.
32:19I'm on such a tight, narrow road,
32:21I've got nowhere to pull over.
32:26Hey, there goes the tire.
32:35Holy shit.
32:36We're in a 100 zone and they just slapped the brakes on
32:39right in front of us.
32:45There we go.
32:46That's how it's done.
32:48Sludge is closing in on his first delivery drop-off in New Zealand.
32:53In a brand new truck he can't afford to damage,
32:56but erratic drivers have made the job more dangerous.
32:59It's the summer months and it's full of tourists.
33:03They have no idea how to drive.
33:05But I've just got to be careful.
33:14We're going past it.
33:15We're all right.
33:16We're nearly here.
33:17We're doing all right.
33:18We're an hour behind where I thought it would be.
33:20Wheel in here and unload.
33:26So that there is the, that's the top frame.
33:29So it goes over the top with the crane
33:31and all the chains hanging down go onto these bolsters,
33:34which they'd shoving under the trailer.
33:36And then they link all that together.
33:38It'll be interesting to see because we don't do this at home.
33:41The only thing I don't like about this deal is scratching the trailer.
33:48They're going to pick 22 ton up in one lift.
34:00That's cool.
34:11That's the job done.
34:12We're just getting out the gate.
34:13I'm just going to head down the road here and find a motel,
34:16have a night and sleep,
34:18and then see where we're going next.
34:30See that second bundle?
34:31Yep.
34:32That top post wants a bit of a jiggle.
34:34See how it's sort of sticking out a bit?
34:36After some much needed rest,
34:38Sludge has made his way to Taupo,
34:41ready to return to New Zealand's South Island
34:44with some farm machinery and timber poles.
34:48That's good, aren't you?
34:49That's it.
34:50Beautiful.
34:53Fully loaded now.
34:55Five and a half hours now down to Wellington.
34:57We're going to almighty Lord.
35:06We're going to the sky
35:08where the clouds meet the earth.
35:16Like Taupo, how beautiful is that?
35:19So I'm thinking, since I'm a bit tired,
35:22I might pull up here and have a bush bath.
35:26Everyone says Lake Taupo is a thermal lake, apparently.
35:33There we go.
35:38Time for a bush bath.
35:41Not getting wet boots.
35:43It's a hot water.
35:46I reckon someone might be full of shit.
35:47It ain't warm.
35:49It is actually really refreshing.
35:50It's two years since the accident.
35:52Ooh!
35:53Kneezy!
35:54That ain't hot water.
35:56I reckon someone might be full of shit.
35:59It ain't warm.
36:01It is actually really refreshing.
36:04It's two years since the accident.
36:08I pretty much thought that this injury was the end of it.
36:13But I'm actually here, and I'm doing it.
36:16I'm not there yet, but I can see light at the end of the tunnel.
36:20I'm looking forward to the future.
36:32I can see some smoke coming off the back of the truck.
36:39Hey, there goes the tire!
36:41The tire exploded.
36:44Oh, shit, mate.
36:50Oh, wow.
36:52Holy shit.
36:54Whoa!
36:55That is a brand-new tire.
36:56How the hell does that happen to a brand-new tire?
36:59It's just opened up and delaminated.
37:01Delaminated means it's taken all the tread pattern off
37:04and just opened itself straight up to the wire belts.
37:07We're down to our last spare.
37:10Urgently needing cash to pay off loans for their new trailers,
37:15Mike and Vinnie are having to earn it the hard way.
37:19One for the truck.
37:20One for your dad.
37:21Let's go.
37:22I know we say this every time, but an air jack would be nice.
37:27That'll do.
37:28That was a half pump.
37:29Let's go.
37:30Oh.
37:35It's on.
37:36Okay.
37:37Believe me, that's as good as it gets.
37:42400 bucks for a brand-new tire to go like that is absolute bullshit,
37:45but, hey, it's all good.
37:47No more drummers.
37:52All fixed, ready to roll.
37:53Hopefully that's the last hurdle for the day.
38:07We're back in civilization.
38:09Back in Perth after 16, 17 days on the road.
38:14Yeah, we made it.
38:16Can't wait to get home, Bart, I tell you what.
38:18Vinnie went really well this time.
38:22We chopped up 116 cars in 10 days,
38:25and I think that busted him.
38:27I think that busted me too.
38:28At that point, I think I realized I'm not a young man anymore.
38:31I'm going to go home and get a good night's sleep,
38:33and hopefully be completely reset by tomorrow.
38:35Together, like absolute soldiers,
38:37we just smashed it out and got it over and done with, you know?
38:40Yo, good on you.
38:41Done work, man.
38:42You worked bloody hard this trip.
38:43Cheers, man.
38:44Felt like it.
38:45I know.
38:46Let's go get a film.
38:47Yeah, we'll come back in the morning and we'll sort this stuff.
38:51What's going on here?
38:56Well, we got nothing here, no brakes to hold us on here.
39:07We've made it.
39:08He dodged another bullet.
39:10But there is something seriously wrong with the brakes here at the moment,
39:14on this trailer anyway.
39:21Because the ferry grounds, I need a really good working brake
39:25to slam on it and help the ferry get off the bottom.
39:28But in this case here, I slam the brake on it,
39:31and I still roll forward a little bit,
39:33and the end of the ferry's right there.
39:35So, yeah, I don't want to be doing that too much.
39:37But that's all right, I've got the heavy one across.
39:40The others are all easy after that.
39:44When I've got all this road train put together,
39:46I've got excellent brakes,
39:47because there's two of those trailers,
39:49the brakes are all brand new.
39:51After narrowly avoiding sinking into the crocodile-infested Jardine River,
39:56Foodie is ferrying all three of his trailers across the water,
40:00desperate to be the last road train into Bamaga before Christmas.
40:05That's pretty typical of this place up here.
40:08Expect the unexpected.
40:13There you go, I think we're away this time.
40:16We have officially crossed the Jardine ferry.
40:20We're going to hook all this bloody puzzle up again,
40:23and we're off into Bamaga.
40:31We're on our way into town.
40:33There ain't a thing that can stop us now.
40:36The contractors and the concreters will get their jobs done.
40:40All the freight will just be taken off the trucks,
40:43left in our yard for people to come and collect,
40:45Christmas presents included.
40:47Santa Claus is coming to town.
40:49Isn't that the song?
40:51Christmas in Bamaga.
40:56The roughest-looking sealer that ever went.
41:00This is the township of Bamaga.
41:06We've got customers waiting.
41:09The job doesn't end in Bamaga for this sweaty Santa.
41:13While some of the freight and the Christmas presents
41:15will be collected from his yard,
41:17the cement powder and the shipping container
41:19need to be delivered to his clients.
41:22Where this container's got to go is just an awkward place.
41:25It's on a high little peaky ridge,
41:27and you've got to get up underneath it.
41:29It's hard to turn around once I get up there,
41:31so I've got to reverse off the whole bloody thing.
41:34We're here.
41:36Just got to get everything down.
41:39We're right.
41:46Check.
41:47Put him up the other way, I think.
41:56It's on the ground, mate.
41:57I'll take a win anyway.
41:58We'll get out of your way.
42:00Hop to it.
42:04Finally, we've got all trailers unloaded.
42:06We're going to start shuffling things around
42:09and organising our trip out tomorrow.
42:12Now we've got freight to go back down as well,
42:14so there's bad weather coming.
42:18The greatest worry, and it is a serious one,
42:19is I can't have my trucks left up here.
42:22I've got no way to earn a living.
42:24I face bankruptcy.
42:27I'm just getting a bit of a weather update at the moment.
42:29This is a seven-day prediction of likely cyclones,
42:34rain depressions around us.
42:36That's what we're concerned about.
42:38That's a tropical cyclone forming at midnight tonight.
42:44The ferry closes at five o'clock.
42:46We're not going to be ready to catch the ferry this afternoon.
42:50We've left it one day late.
42:52Now, we've got to get down this mountain.
43:01Oh, God, look at the clouds coming in over there.
43:04That is rain coming.
43:06If the truck starts off, we're gone, eh?
43:13We're up against the wall.
43:15We've got no options left.
43:16We have to get out.
43:17The creeks are flooded.
43:18There's no bridges.
43:19We need to have our dollies in the right place.
43:35Around the corner, we've got the first bridge sludge coming up.
43:39We've got our first bridge.
43:40Paul's going to shut it for us to go across.
43:43Alright, mate.
43:44The bridge was clear.
43:45I'm on my way.
43:49I'm on my way.
43:50Stop!
43:52Stop!
43:54I'm on my way!
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