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00:00I can't go quick up.
00:05Even if it was dry now, we couldn't go anywhere.
00:10And now I'll just go up like Bob's uncle.
00:14It's pissing out freakin' a little.
00:19Well, here we go, Brodie boy.
00:21Oh, there's some holes down there.
00:26The wind's blowing hard.
00:27The thing with lightning is make one mistake with it and he'll kill you.
00:31Brodie!
00:36Because we're oversized, we've got to have two pilots.
00:41Are you warning trucks or are my warning trucks?
00:43Are you supposed to be behind you, you dumbass?
00:46Please don't talk in the CV to me.
00:48Like that.
00:51Ah, Mr Rilkel.
00:53Righto, Wallace.
00:57I've got to get out of here, eh?
01:02I've got to go.
01:08I just want to get out and I can't go quicker.
01:11I've got a job I've got to do tomorrow, so I've got to get this done today.
01:14It is just sliding, eh? We don't want to slide off the edge.
01:25If the truck starts off, we're gone, eh? I can't stop it.
01:29No, I'm not going anywhere, eh? This is f***ing.
01:41On a treacherous, muddy mountain track, log trucking specialist Mel Michelson has a vital 28-ton load to deliver.
01:49We've got an urgent order just came in down New South Wales.
01:54They need some boards.
01:59So that's flexor and you just slide on it.
02:02The truck's doing this.
02:04Can't stop it, eh?
02:05Can't stop it, eh?
02:08My job's on the line and this is my name and I need as much work as I can get.
02:15If she can get out of the logging site at Knapp Creek, Mel must wind her way through the Queensland Highlands to a mill 323km away in Kogan, where the logs will be cut into floorboards for a brewery.
02:31This load is the second of two 28-ton loads, which she was hoping to deliver today.
02:41I might as well turn the truck off. It's not gone anyway.
02:56This is really bad. I'm wondering why I can't get traction.
02:59I don't want to take that off now.
03:07I don't want to change it in the mud.
03:09I'm going to have to come back, get it off, run into town in a ute, fix it, put it back on.
03:15For **** sake.
03:16Even if it was dry now, we couldn't go anywhere because of the tire.
03:23Those are better getting shit out of the truck then.
03:26Could be stuck here for a day or two, but depends on how long it takes to dry out.
03:30Mel's only option is to wait out the bad weather, returning to her newly purchased dream home, which she's trying to pay off by hauling timber.
03:42I've fallen in love with this beautiful old, grand Queenslander. She's 130 years old.
03:49It's going to cost a lot of money to renovate.
03:51I pulled off the boards and discovered this beautiful pine, so I'm going to bring all this back to life and sand it and polish it all and stain it.
04:01It's every load of logs I do now, I go towards this place.
04:07Looks like I've got to keep trucking on to get these red eyes done, so I just need to do as much work as I can when it's not raining.
04:24Thanks for picking me up.
04:26Not a problem. Too far to walk pushing the tow.
04:29I hope I can get this truck out.
04:35Mel's truck is blocking the access road to the logging site run by her friend, Gary Orton.
04:42He's come to help her get moving again, before more bad weather sets in.
04:47I just want to get this truck out. Like, days waiting on this load, it's pretty urgent.
04:52He can't cuddle up if he hasn't got it.
04:53Got that jack.
04:54There's a week's rain coming. I'm a bit worried. I've got to get it out.
05:03Not much room.
05:04Where to get my fat guts under there.
05:07It's not a friendly jack.
05:11I want to use the air of the truck to use the air jack.
05:17Wrong air.
05:18You've got the wrong fittings.
05:22That means I can't use the air jack at all, so I've got to have to manually do it.
05:27I've got the wrong hose for my air jack, so I'll just have to change it the old school way.
05:34Bloody trucks.
05:35Oh.
05:36These things happen. We didn't have air jacks in the old days, so as long as we get it done before this weather comes in.
05:42That's our main concern.
05:51Oh, God. Come on.
05:54Got a fair way to go, Mel.
05:56Oh.
05:58That's a positive sign.
05:59What's going on?
06:06It must be getting off the ground now.
06:09Give it a go.
06:11Nothing to lose.
06:18It's just a little bit of a go.
06:21For sake.
06:26Oh, shit.
06:27The inside tyre is rooted.
06:31Oh.
06:43So, delaying this job for after Christmas, did that cost you all the client money?
06:49Our customer had some people who were going to be in the yard in Alice Springs.
06:52Oh, you bugger, look at that.
06:55Another friggin' rock through my windscreen.
07:01The delay over Christmas means I got a rock through my windscreen, which I didn't get last bloody time I went through here.
07:08Yep.
07:09And because we didn't get the freight through, I haven't been paid for the job.
07:12Over a month after having to abandon a trucking job because of road closures in the Central Desert, Steve Graham and his grandson Brodie have returned to Laverton to collect the load they left with Steve's mate, Rex Riles.
07:28Hello, mate.
07:29How are you, Rex?
07:30How are you?
07:31How are you, Rex?
07:32Have a good Christmas.
07:33Yeah, mate.
07:34Very good to see you, mate.
07:35You?
07:36I hope you had a good one.
07:37Last year we had to park the gear up.
07:40Now we've come back to get it.
07:42This is round two.
07:44Now we've got 1,600 kilometres to go to get it to Alice Springs.
07:49From Laverton, Steve and Brodie will take on the infamous Great Central Road, over 1,000 kilometres of brutal dirt, which has only just been reopened after being savaged by summer storms, before hitting the bitumen to finish their delivery in Alice Springs.
08:06You're good, Brodie boy?
08:07Yep.
08:08Let's go.
08:14What we've got is structural steel on this trailer, and the other two trailers are the frames and the trusses and all the bits that make up the framework of the house.
08:26Well, here we go, Brodie boy.
08:30Now the truth will come out.
08:36The road hasn't been too rough, but it's keeping me on my toes.
08:46The bog holes where people got bogged just before Christmas, I can see quite clearly where they were bogged.
08:54So I've got to treat every one of those spots with real care.
09:02We're going to pull up here, just have a little break.
09:05Brodie?
09:06Yeah?
09:07Just have a quick walk around and check it, and I mean check everything.
09:11Brodie gets paid for the trip when he comes with me, and it's all part of learning about life.
09:16How did you go with the check, mate?
09:19Oh, they all look good.
09:20I'm good to go for a walk.
09:22Keep me in sight.
09:23Yeah.
09:24Just looking around for reptilians and what-nots.
09:28Brodie is a dead keen naturalist, and he just loves reptiles.
09:33Oh, look.
09:34There's a bearded.
09:35He's sitting on the spinifex.
09:36That's a painted bearded, that one.
09:38So that'd be his home just there.
09:39So he's going to make a run for it.
09:41Probably going straight across.
09:42Or not.
09:47So, yeah, look.
09:48And there he goes.
09:50The one thing I'd want Brodie to learn on a trip like this is when he tells me he's checked these, mind as he's checked them.
09:56Constantly forget how to talk to the modern young people.
10:00You've got to be very literal.
10:02They've been brought up all their life looking at an area this big.
10:05So this big place out here, it's not quite so much in their awareness.
10:10But coming on a trip with Grandad might expand the horizons from a little screen like that to the great big panorama through which we're travelling.
10:21Brodie?
10:22Yeah.
10:23Are we ready?
10:24Yep.
10:30Rain, Brodie, rain.
10:31We don't need rain this early, mate.
10:32This is bloody scary.
10:33You can see out there, either side, big falls.
10:34Big, big amounts of rain falling.
10:35There's some big holes in the road that have got water in them already. I know that.
10:39And if they get any more rain on them, we aren't getting around them.
10:49Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.
10:52Which puddle, which puddle, mate? Which puddle I think I might go in this one.
11:03Looks like it's a straighter approach. That one's on a big angle.
11:10That's a straighter approach.
11:11That one's on a big angle.
11:16Shit, this looks like slop, boy.
11:19We're either going to get through it
11:20or are they going to get up here, boy.
11:26Oh, there's some holes down that roadie bike.
11:36We've got our first bridge coming up.
11:39People's going to shut it for us to go across.
11:42That is 3.8m wide.
11:43Every transporter on the tow bridge.
11:45Call her up there, please.
11:49All right, mate.
11:50Bridge is clear.
11:51I'm all right.
11:54Get her down to 40 and idled across.
12:04Stop!
12:06Stop!
12:07What's on the bridge?
12:10What's that say?
12:12Stop!
12:15Get out of the way!
12:22Clear out of the bridge.
12:23That lady got my blood pressure up, Sludge, I tell you.
12:27Why is that?
12:28Well, I had the car stopped and this woman drove straight towards me
12:31and I was on her lane with the stop paddle up
12:34and she went to drive round me to go on the bridge.
12:37And I says, what has stopped me?
12:39It must be her f***ing Kiwi's, eh?
12:42I think she had an Aussie accent.
12:44He did.
12:45Good one.
12:46Legendary outback trucker Sludge has come back to the land of his birth.
12:54New Zealand working as an oversized load driver.
12:57Doing a few jobs for Paul Clark, mate of mine from Dunedin.
13:02We're taking up a 43 tonne Terex dozer up to Wanaka for the wheels of Wanaka.
13:09The vintage bulldozer is the first of two that Sludge has to deliver.
13:13He left Dunedin over an hour ago and is headed for the mountainous country roads
13:18and narrow bridges that lead to Wanaka on the edge of New Zealand's Southern Alps.
13:25Sludge's mate Paul will exhibit both of his restored vintage bulldozers
13:29at the wheels of Wanaka's show.
13:32It's a big machinery show and everyone in New Zealand comes
13:35and people from all around the world are coming.
13:38It's a passion more than a money-making venture.
13:41I don't think there's any others that are restored anywhere that I know of.
13:45Probably this side of Australia, New Zealand.
13:49I come out here just because I haven't worked for so long
13:51to try and financially help Wendy a little bit.
13:55Two years ago, Sludge had a motorcycle accident near his home in Western Australia.
14:02Unable to work, he has relied on his wife Wendy to support him during his recovery.
14:07Since I had the accident, Wendy still had to live and feed me.
14:11And when you're not working, it slowly gobbles everything you've got in the bank.
14:16I want to drive a little bit and earn a few bucks.
14:22But the big thing for me is now the grandkids.
14:26Sludge's two eldest children and their families live in New Zealand.
14:30I'd like to make sure they remember me, that I'm still here
14:33and spend a bit of time with them as well as working.
14:40This is my father's gravestone.
14:43He died on the 13th of April, 1984.
14:47And this is my brother's one.
14:50When did he die?
14:521981.
14:54So every time I come to New Zealand, I normally come up here and say hello
14:58and make sure they're all clean and tidy.
15:02My father died in a truck accident.
15:06They were backing a truck into a ramp and the brakes failed, rolled back and crushed him
15:10and squashed him. That's what killed him.
15:11My brother had an early end of life as well.
15:14He was coming home to the farm and Dad found him.
15:18He had run off the road and banged his head in his car and that's what killed him.
15:22I was only young when he died.
15:24It's one of those curveballs in life where that could have been me laying there as well.
15:30I thought I'd live forever but I've had a big scare
15:34and I don't want the kids growing up without me like I did without my father.
15:41Another bridge just around the corner.
15:44Roger, I've got to start watching what I'm doing and just be careful.
15:48With an oversize, you've got to be right on the money.
15:54Oh! Oh!
16:00Oh! Holy shit!
16:02Now that's narrow! Holy shit!
16:07Now that's narrow! Holy shit!
16:10The trailer was rubbing the edge right on it.
16:18We're just coming into Wanaka and we're going to pull up here at the wheels of Wanaka.
16:25Transport toys, helicopters, planes, my kind of place.
16:30So that's one done.
16:41So tomorrow will be the real test.
16:43Plan is now we'll head back to Dunedin and then we can load the big one.
16:48It's almost 300 kilometres back to Paul's yard in Dunedin,
16:53where Sludge will take on the second dozer, a bona fide heavyweight.
16:57That's how much heavier?
17:00That's about another 15 ton heavier.
17:02Jesus, yeah right.
17:04So you're up around about 90 ton.
17:06The dozer blade is pretty much, you know, that's the bit that'll cut somebody open if it hits someone.
17:11We have to get it in the right place to make sure that, you know, the trailer doesn't go overweight on the axle of all the trucks.
17:21Yep.
17:23She's all on and tied up.
17:25We're ready to go.
17:27Bit nervous.
17:28It's going to be a hard day.
17:30Toughest one I've done.
17:31This thing's pretty serious.
17:33Hey, we might have a bit of a problem.
17:37I've just seen this email come through.
17:39You know where we went for that road work, they've got to shut the road to do that new bit of seal.
17:44So they're saying they're going to try and shut this off at 12.30 today.
17:48So how long are they shutting that for?
17:50Well, two to four hours.
17:52We've got to try and do our best to get there, otherwise we're going to be parked on the side of the road until they've finished the job.
17:57And I don't know if we'll get there in time before they close it.
18:02It just adds to the pressure for the day.
18:27Right, now you see why they say four-wheel drive only, eh?
18:32Yeah.
18:34After failing to cross the notorious Great Central Road one month ago, Steve and his grandson Brodie have returned, desperate to get a paying load through to Alice Springs.
18:46Still got 700 plus k of dirt to go.
18:51These storms are rolling in on us.
18:55Any serious rain out here and we're buggered.
19:00Yeah.
19:04It's just about dark, so I'll be pulling up shortly.
19:08Brodie?
19:09Yeah?
19:10Have a look at all the tyres up, please.
19:12And then you're free, Brodie, and I'll start getting tea organised and stuff.
19:17I am.
19:19The wind's blowing hard.
19:22I just hope it doesn't blow one of these storms into me.
19:26This is a good spot to camp.
19:27We're up on the hill, we've got the breeze here, and we can roll off from here in the morning if there's big rain during the day.
19:32If this will be dry up here, we can roll away.
19:33I've got my little gas stove cooking for Brodie and myself to keep our headage up.
19:48Brodie, don't be walking around with that aluminium pole in your hand with this lightning around.
19:54Maybe we should be down on the low ground if the lightning gets going.
19:59The thing with the lightning is make one mistake with it and it'll kill you.
20:05That rain is going to happen at any minute, seriously.
20:10Where's Brodie?
20:14Brodie!
20:22You know what I'd be doing?
20:26Yep.
20:27I've been bringing the tyre service to bring out another tyre and a jack.
20:31I know it's an extra cost, but they won't get hung.
20:36Already two days behind on an urgent 28-ton timber delivery, a second-blown drive tyre has pushed log truck driver Mel Michelson to her limit.
20:48Hey Joe, Gary Orton here.
20:50Oh, we've got a real problem here, mate.
20:55Had a flat tyre, got it one spare, but on the rear drive the inside tyre is rooted.
21:02You're the only one that can do it and you can't leave the shop because no-one else is there.
21:08There's only two places in Burnham that will do it.
21:13They can't come out to do it out here on site, so we've got to take it in there.
21:16It might have a second-hand one in there.
21:17That's what he wants.
21:18Yep.
21:19Two things that cost you most money, rubber tyres and women.
21:22Yep.
21:23Tits and tyres.
21:24I've got to get out of here.
21:25It's delaying everything.
21:27So I've got a beautiful old property.
21:29I need to turn them wheels to get that coin in to do my renovations.
21:52Back safe, Mellie.
21:53Put that into the jack.
21:54We didn't try that one before.
21:55No.
21:56No way.
21:57Me and Gary tried one hose, but we didn't try the other connection on the other side.
22:14We didn't try hard enough.
22:16And now it'll just go up like f***ing Bob's uncle and we'll be out of here.
22:32It's not bailing anywhere.
22:37It's pissing out frickin' oil.
22:42Why has it decided to leak out oil today?
22:45Mmm.
22:46I've had it for four years and haven't had no drama with it.
22:52You've only gone up that mark.
22:53Oh, they're moving now.
23:00Can't take a trick.
23:08Rudy!
23:11The thing with the lightning is make one mistake with it and it'll kill you.
23:16Brodie!
23:20There he is. You found him.
23:21You're a good girl.
23:23You're a good girl.
23:24Thanks for finding Brodie for me, Bill.
23:31Well, there you go, Brodie.
23:32There's your teammate.
23:34You're out of the rain.
23:35I'm gonna go and eat mine.
23:36I'm gonna go and eat mine.
23:37Can you fit any more potato in your mouth, Brodie?
23:39Boy, you're hungry or what?
23:40Starving.
23:41This is a good meal to have at the end of the day.
23:43We'll think about going, Brodie.
23:44If you're good, we'll go.
23:45So what was your tally last night?
23:46The ugly spider I got.
23:47Here's the little mouse.
23:48A mouse?
23:49Yeah.
23:50A mouse or a donut?
23:51A mouse.
23:52A mouse.
23:53Steve is on a mission to get a long-delayed load across the red centre of Australia while simultaneously
23:57catching up on some much-needed family time.
23:59I like to think I'm quite close to my grandkids.
24:00They're all good kids.
24:01I'm determined to spend the time with them that I didn't spend with my kids, but I'm struggling
24:02to find that time still.
24:03I'm struggling to find that time still.
24:04I'm not a big ugly spider I got.
24:05I think I got this spider I got.
24:06Here's the little mouse.
24:07A mouse.
24:08A mouse?
24:09Yeah.
24:10A mouse or a donut?
24:11A mouse.
24:12A mouse.
24:13A mouse or a donut?
24:14A mouse.
24:15A mouse.
24:16A mouse.
24:17A mouse.
24:18A mouse or a donut?
24:19A mouse.
24:20A mouse.
24:21A mouse.
24:22Steve is on a mission to get a long-delayed load across the red centre of Australia while simultaneously
24:25catching up on some much-needed family time.
24:26I'm trying to find the kids, but I'm struggling to find that time still.
24:33There's the border, mate.
24:35I will stop up here, check our gear.
24:47How is everything?
24:48Good.
24:49Right, now let's go back and start again, mate.
24:51We've got to talk to you about your eyes.
24:53See the broken strap?
24:55Oh, yeah.
24:56Oh, yeah.
24:57You've got...
24:58You young blokes, you've got to learn to see.
25:02It appears I missed this broken strap.
25:06I don't know how I missed that, too.
25:09It comes with experience, that ability to just notice things that aren't right.
25:16That's it, Brodie.
25:17I'll go around and tie it off.
25:19That rain that's coming up behind us, I do know if that rain gets out here, on this road,
25:28in front of me, we won't do it.
25:31Now, I have to check my fuel.
25:34There's not much fuel in that tank.
25:37It's not wood.
25:40I've got diesel in a belly tank under the front trailer.
25:44To enable long-distance hauls through the harsh Australian wilderness, Steve has set up a 1,000-litre fuel storage tank under his first trailer.
25:54He can pump fuel from there to the main tanks using a hose, as long as the truck's motor is running.
26:01But the process can take over an hour.
26:04I don't want to have to stop and run it and have the rain beat me.
26:10Brodie boy, we've got about 30 k's to go to the camp, and we're really low on fuel.
26:17I should fuel up here, but I'm going to take a punt.
26:24I'll give it a crack, 30 kilometres.
26:26I need 40 litres.
26:29This might be the worst mistake I've made in a long time.
26:37I've got to keep my wits about me today and pedal a bit.
26:40If we're running late, it's going to be a real pain in the arse.
26:44Sludge is racing the clock.
26:46He has a bigger, wider and 20-tonne heavier bulldozer to haul almost 300 kilometres to Wanaka,
26:54before the road is scheduled to be closed in four hours' time.
26:58If we don't make the time to get there before they shut it, we're going to be stuck with, you know, 90 tonnes sitting on the road at four and a half metres wide blocking the whole road up.
27:09We've got enough pressure with the wider and 20-tonne heavier, so the extra pressure has just given me the shits, really.
27:18We've got Paul out the front today, and Sarah, Paul's partner, she's coming today as well.
27:24I've been driving trucks for about six or seven years.
27:27I'm going to be driving the second pilot vehicle.
27:30To provide extra support to Sludge on this massive job, his wife Wendy has flown in from Australia.
27:37It's pretty big for him, especially, you know, getting back into it again.
27:41I'm going to jump in with a pilot, which is exciting because I've never been in a pilot vehicle before.
27:48This is the worst bit, is getting out of this bloody town, because we've got to be on the wrong side of the road.
28:00All clear slides, just keep coming.
28:19Yeah, so f***ing go! Go!
28:25Paul, you're supposed to be in front of me?
28:28I've got to get around to the sheep bridge first.
28:31For f***ing sake, give the law.
28:36Why the f***ing I'm supposed to be behind you, you dumbass?
28:41This is what pisses me off with him, is he always says...
28:44Makes his own rules.
28:46He's like, everything's got to be by the book, and then he f***ed it all up.
28:54There we go, onto the motorway.
28:57Woo-hoo!
29:00You can tell we're 20 tonne heavier.
29:05This'll make this old girl work today.
29:07I'm just going to pop around on the left, come around in front of you, coming around.
29:17Probably did that a bit early, actually.
29:19You should have waited to the bottom of the hill, but never mind.
29:22Yeah, righto.
29:23I'd rather do it early than too late.
29:25No, but the rules are you've got to wait to get to the bottom of the line.
29:30Oh, Mr Rulebook, who f***ing was behind me before and he was supposed to go ahead of me?
29:35Righto, Wallace.
29:37Little bit of tension there with Paul and Sarah.
29:43Trouble in paradise, it's probably just settling in and getting the distances right.
29:50And, you know, everyone has a different idea where they should be and what they're doing.
29:55And after this black car, you're all clear to come over to the right-hand lane.
30:00So he just sits in the middle now?
30:02No, he's got to be open to go on.
30:04Oh, because he's turning.
30:05He's got to go under this bridge.
30:06And it comes down on an angle.
30:13But if he went in there, he literally would have hit it.
30:15Shit! Yeah! Wow!
30:19Yeah, you're all clear.
30:27He's not even warning tracks.
30:29Are you warning tracks or am I warning tracks?
30:334.3, guys. I couldn't get on the CB's here.
30:41So this next bridge is at 10km an hour and central.
30:46Roger that.
30:49You need the pilots to shut the bridge off.
30:52You've got to have two pilots.
30:56One's got to be further up to shut the road and the other one guides us across.
31:02Here we go!
31:05Holy f***ing go! I'm right behind you!
31:21Once I get there, you need to move forwards!
31:24Please don't talk on the CB to me like that.
31:32It's always hard when you're a couple working together
31:35because you're probably saying more than you should.
31:38If we learn to shut up, it'll probably be a lot easier.
31:46Keeping around the guard now.
31:49I'm just only going after that mark.
31:51Hardly moving now, isn't it?
31:53Mel Michelson is racing the fading afternoon light.
31:58She needs to replace two drive tyres with a faulty jack
32:01and get her 28-tonne load over 300 kilometres to a timber mill
32:06to finally get paid for the job.
32:10Can you jack up a little bit by hand?
32:13We really need this loading.
32:16Just want to get out of here before the frickin' rain gets here.
32:20I don't even know if it's going up, though.
32:28Yeah, it is.
32:30Yeah, you're winning.
32:36Yep, it's high enough, Mallie.
32:37Right.
32:46Cool, it's just stuck there, eh?
32:48Look, that is completely off the ground.
32:59Find me.
33:01Now I've got to get it over that.
33:02Good girl.
33:12Now, it's tall I can go f*** itself.
33:26Get up, bitch.
33:27Oh, yeah!
33:37Whew!
33:38All good to go.
33:40Thank you for all your help.
33:41Not a problem.
33:43I'd better get out.
33:44The heaven clouds are over there.
33:45I mean, they're coming in quite fast, so...
33:47I'm just going to get out of here and down the mountain.
33:59I'm worried about this part the most.
34:02It's still quite wet.
34:04It's the first gear material.
34:06The ground feels okay.
34:12Like, it's still a bit slippery, but it's okay.
34:19Yee-haw!
34:20Finally made it to the gate,
34:22and I'm just pulled out on the road,
34:23so I'm pretty happy.
34:27Clouds are pretty black.
34:29That's raining over there, definitely.
34:31It looks like it just got out of there in time.
34:37Being down, down and out for three or four days,
34:40like, I've missed two jobs that have come in.
34:42There's missed money and letting people down.
34:45Like, I don't like that.
34:47But, um, they understood, so that's looking for you.
34:51Now I've got to get back to the mill and get this unloaded.
34:58Just hit the Warrago Highway.
34:59I've got some pretty good roads
35:02until I get near Dolly
35:03and head off into the night.
35:21The load from hell.
35:27When these logs come off,
35:28I'll have a happy customer
35:32who, luckily, understands why I'm late.
35:37But we can't help the weather,
35:39so that makes me happy when they're happy.
35:42Yes!
35:42Oh, my God, I'm so proud to say I am finally unloaded,
35:49so after this I'll go back to the farm and have a rest
35:53and then tomorrow I'll go and get a feed of a load of firewood.
35:56I've got to keep them wheels turning
35:58because I haven't been earning.
36:00I reckon I've got about 30km to go there.
36:09I need 40 litres.
36:12I've got diesel into the front trailer.
36:14I don't want to have to stop and have the rain beat me.
36:16This might be the worst mistake I've made in a long time.
36:19Maybe I'm being a stupid old fool taking a punt on it.
36:22But that's the gamble I'm about to take.
36:32We might do it, Brodie.
36:34We've got about a size K to go.
36:35We've made it, Brodie.
36:46We've made it, boy.
36:49We've made it, Brodie.
36:54This is it.
36:55We're going to camp here tonight.
36:57We've made it to the bitumen.
36:59Touch wood, we're laughing.
37:01Can you do a quick walk around, please, mate?
37:03Because I'm going to run fuel from the belly tank
37:05into the front tank, right?
37:07That'll give us enough fuel
37:08to get into Alice Springs tomorrow.
37:10Sounds good.
37:20We're on the bitumen now.
37:22We've got 468km to go from here.
37:26I'm on a tight time schedule.
37:29We've got people who will be starting work
37:33a half for me on time.
37:35Or it costs big money.
37:40Well, Brodie boy, here we go.
37:42There's the yard over there.
37:43We've just about pulled it off.
37:47Here we are, mate.
37:48Here we are.
37:53We'll go and see Matt
37:54and find out what's going on.
37:56All right.
37:56How are you, mate?
38:02You're joking.
38:03All right.
38:05It's the old story in this business.
38:07Once again, we've
38:08gone hard to get here
38:12and we're not going to unload today.
38:15We're going to unload tomorrow.
38:19It does frustrate you, isn't it?
38:22If I had known this earlier,
38:24maybe I would have gone a little bit slower
38:25and kept the truck a little bit cooler.
38:29So nothing's going to happen today.
38:32Finally, it's in the yard.
38:33After five weeks, it's all here.
38:35And we're not unloading until tomorrow.
38:38Hi.
38:43Hello.
38:44Come through this way if you want.
38:45Brodie, you go.
38:46This is your...
38:47All right.
38:47This is yours.
38:49In some ways, I'm sort of happy
38:51that we're not unloading until tomorrow.
38:53Now I can relax a bit
38:54and take Brodie in to see a surprise.
38:56Did you guys want to have a hold of a snake?
38:59Brodie is a dead keen naturalist.
39:01He just loves reptiles.
39:03She's going to come over your shoulders.
39:06Well, I'm taking him into the reptile centre.
39:09You can't feel that weight.
39:10It's a lot heavier than most little pithons.
39:12And now comes a bit where she strangles you.
39:17Reptiles.
39:18Always a cool thing to see.
39:20Oh, look at him.
39:21He's a beauty.
39:22Is it Frank?
39:23He's a Spencer's goanna.
39:25Oh, wow.
39:26They do get big.
39:27Well, Brodie, I hope you enjoyed that.
39:30Yeah, that was awesome.
39:31Coming into Milken,
39:37and Milken's where they've got
39:38all the main street of Milken ripped up.
39:44I'm going to move these cones
39:45around this milk tanker here
39:46because you ain't going to get past.
39:51Oh, my God.
39:52He's actually moving cones.
39:54I can't believe it.
39:55Normally, he'd just be like,
39:56oh, he's going up to things over.
39:58Don't even worry about it.
40:01Yeah, he should get around there now.
40:06Hauling an oversized combined mass
40:08of almost 90 tonnes
40:10in a 30-year-old truck
40:12he's only driven once before,
40:14Sludge is relying on his problematic pilots,
40:18Paul and Sarah.
40:19When you've got your partner with you,
40:21they have different ideas.
40:23It's not a bed of roses.
40:27Have you heard any more about these roadworks
40:30and Fruitlands, Paul?
40:32I've just heard that they're closing the road
40:35at 1 o'clock.
40:37We're going to be really, really pushing it hard
40:40to get there.
40:41Look at that.
40:42The team have less than two hours
40:46to get through a scheduled road closure ahead
40:49or risk being forced to stop overnight.
40:52After 6 o'clock,
40:53we're not allowed to drive oversize.
40:55So if they hold us up too long,
40:57we're not going to make one again at night.
40:59Here we go.
41:00It's into the hills and the windy stuff
41:03and this is where I've got to be super vigilant.
41:07We're coming into the gorge now
41:09and I've got to be central in the middle of the road
41:11so they've got to stop all the cars.
41:14Well, I don't know if you can hear me
41:15but there's two cars after the petrol tanker.
41:19After that, the road is closed.
41:27Pull over!
41:30Is he stopped?
41:31Pull right over it.
41:34Just pull in as far as you can go.
41:35Yep.
41:38We've got to put the power dividers in now
41:40because the road's wet.
41:42So that locks the arse end up
41:43giving us more drive.
41:46F***ing hell.
41:47Shit.
41:51It's just starting to skid a little bit
41:53and light the tyres up.
41:57I'm just fighting,
41:59trying to keep out on the dry bits of the road.
42:01Just to keep the traction.
42:04Otherwise, we wouldn't have made it over that.
42:09Coming up to where the road closure is
42:12and it's touch and go.
42:13I don't know if we're going to get this.
42:18Hi.
42:20You guys are starting sailing, haven't you?
42:21So it'll be fine if we'll get through, OK?
42:24Yes, sir.
42:26We've got a large transporter, 4.3 coming through.
42:30It's about 90 tonne.
42:32We'll just go along quietly.
42:33Is that OK?
42:34Copy.
42:36Yeah, that's all right.
42:38Yeah, copy sludge.
42:43Yep, nah, they've given us the OK to come through.
42:45Better get authority just in time.
42:47We're cutting off here in four minutes of time.
42:50Beautiful.
42:56It's a pretty straight run home now.
42:58Well, guys, it's a big thank you.
43:09Mission completed.
43:14Good job, Dad.
43:17To see him back here,
43:19pretty much close to his old self,
43:21it's fantastic.
43:22I'm wrapped, actually, for him.
43:24I was struggling after the accident.
43:28Am I good enough to drive trucks again?
43:31And to have done what I've done is huge.
43:34I'm probably lucky enough
43:35to have a second chance of life.
43:38My father, he wasn't lucky enough,
43:40but I think he'd be proud
43:41of what I've done over the years.
43:44Sludge is back.
43:45This time we've crossed the threshold
43:46and we're going to do it again.
43:54We're going to do it again.
43:55We're going to do it again.
43:56We're going to do it again.
43:57We're going to do it again.
43:58We're going to do it again.
43:59We're going to do it again.
44:00We're going to do it again.
44:01We're going to do it again.
44:02We're going to do it again.
44:03We're going to do it again.
44:04We're going to do it again.
44:05We're going to do it again.
44:06We're going to do it again.
44:07We're going to do it again.
44:08We're going to do it again.
44:09We're going to do it again.
44:10We're going to do it again.
44:11We're going to do it again.
44:12We're going to do it again.
44:13We're going to do it again.
44:14We're going to do it again.
44:15We're going to do it again.
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