- 9 minutes ago
Category
📺
TVTranscript
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, which puddle, which puddle, mate? Which puddle? I think I might go in this one.
10:54Looks like it's a straighter approach. That one's on a big angle.
10:59Shit, this looks like slop, look.
11:02Very nice.
11:03Oh, there's a pole down that road, mate.
11:04Piss.
11:05Oh, there's a hole down that roadie bike.
11:10Easy.
11:24One.
11:25One.
11:26Two.
11:27Two.
11:28One.
11:29We've got our first bridge coming up, Paul's going to shut it for us to go across.
11:42We've got a 3.8m wide, can we transport it on the tow bridge?
11:46Call her up there please.
11:49All right mate, bridge is clear.
11:51I'm all right.
11:54Get her down to 40 and idled across.
12:03Stop!
12:05Stop!
12:07What's off the bridge?
12:10What's that say?
12:12Stop!
12:14Get out of the way!
12:21Clear out of the bridge.
12:23That lady got my blood pressure up, Sludge, I tell you.
12:27Why's that?
12:28Well I had the car stopped and this woman drove straight towards me and I was on her lane with the stop paddle up and she went to drive round me to go on the bridge.
12:37And I says, what has stopped me?
12:40It must be her iwi's, eh?
12:43I think she had an Aussie accent.
12:46Yeah, good one.
12:48Legendary outback trucker Sludge has come back to the land of his birth, New Zealand, working as an oversized load driver.
12:58Doing a few jobs for Paul Clark, mate of mine from Dunedin.
13:02We're taking up a 43 tonne Tyrex dozer up to Wanaka for the wheels of Wanaka.
13:09The vintage bulldozer is the first of two that Sludge has to deliver.
13:14He left Dunedin over an hour ago and is headed for the mountainous country roads and narrow bridges that lead to Wanaka on the edge of New Zealand's southern alps.
13:24Sludge's mate Paul will exhibit both of his restored vintage bulldozers at the wheels of Wanaka's show.
13:32It's a big machinery show and everyone in New Zealand comes and 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, probably this side of Australia, New Zealand.
13:47I've come out here just because I haven't worked for so long to try and financially help Wendy a little bit.
13:54Two years ago, Sludge had a motorcycle accident near his home in Western Australia.
14:01Unable 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.
14:19I want to drive a little bit and earn a few bucks.
14:22But the big thing for me is now the grandkids.
14:25Sludge'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 and spend a bit of time with them as well as working.
14:36This is my father's gravestone.
14:42He died on the 13th of April, 1984.
14:48And this is my brother's one.
14:50When did he die?
14:521981.
14:53So every time I come to New Zealand, I normally come up here and say hello and make sure they're all clean and tidy.
15:01My father died in a truck accident.
15:06They were backing a truck into a ramp and the brakes failed, rolled back and crushed him and squashed him.
15:11That's what killed him.
15:12My 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 and I don't want the kids growing up without me like I did without my father.
15:41Another bridge just around the corner.
15:43Roger.
15:44I'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.
15:51Oh.
15:52Oh.
15:53Oh.
15:54Holy shit.
15:55Now that's narrow.
15:56Holy shit.
15:57The 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.
16:28My kind of place.
16:39So 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 where Sludge will take on the second dozer, a bona fide heavyweight.
16:58That's how much heavier?
17:00That's about another 15 ton heavier.
17:02Jesus.
17:03Yeah, right.
17:04So you're up around about 90 tonnes.
17:06The dozer blade is pretty much, you know, that's the bit that'll cut somebody open if it hits someone.
17:15We have to get it in the right place to make sure that, you know, the trailer doesn't go overweight on any axle of all the trucks.
17:21Yep.
17:22She's all on and tied up.
17:25We're ready to go.
17:26Bit nervous.
17:27It's going to be a hard day.
17:29Toughest one I've done.
17:30This thing's pretty serious.
17:32Hey, 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.
17:41They'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.
17:54Otherwise, we're going to be parked on the side of the road until they've finished the job.
17:58And 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.
18:14Oh, there's some holes down there, bro.
18:17Right, now you see why they say four-wheel drive only, eh?
18:33Yeah.
18:34After failing to cross the notorious Great Central Road one month ago, Steve and his grandson
18:41Brodie have returned, desperate to get a paying load through to Alice Springs.
18:48Still got 700 plus k of dirt to go.
18:53These storms are rolling in on us.
18:57Any serious rain out here and we're buggered.
19:00Yeah.
19:05It's just about dark, so I'll be pulling up shortly.
19:10Brodie?
19:11Yeah?
19:12Have a look at all the tyres up, please.
19:15And then you're free, Brodie, and I'll start getting tea organised and stuff.
19:20I am.
19:22The wind's blowing hard.
19:25I just hope it doesn't blow one of these storms into me.
19:29This is a good spot to camp.
19:32We're up on the hill.
19:33We've got the breeze here.
19:34And we can roll off from here in the morning if there's big rain during the night.
19:38This will be dry up here.
19:39We can roll away.
19:40I've got my little gas stove cooking for Brodie and myself to keep our headage up.
19:47Brodie, don't be walking around with that aluminium pole in your hand with this lightning around.
19:53Maybe we should be down on the low ground if the lightning gets going.
20:00The thing with the lightning is make one mistake with it and it'll kill you.
20:05That rain is going to happen any minute.
20:08Seriously.
20:09Where's Brodie?
20:12Brodie!
20:14You know what I'd be doing?
20:27Yeah.
20:28I'd be 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.
20:37Already two days behind on an urgent 28-ton timber delivery, a second blown drive tyre
20:45has pushed log truck driver Mel Michelson to her limit.
20:50Hey Joe, Gary Orton here.
20:53Oh, we've got a real problem here, mate.
20:56We've got a flat tyre, got it one spare but on the rear drive the inside tyre is rooted.
21:04You're the only one that can do it and you can't leave the shop because no one else is there.
21:09There'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.
21:17He might have a second hand one in there.
21:21That's what he wants.
21:22Yep.
21:23Two things that cost you most money, rubber tyres and women.
21:27Yep.
21:29Tits and tyres.
21:33I've got to get out of here.
21:35It's delaying everything.
21:37So I've got a beautiful old property.
21:40I need to turn them wheels to get that coin in to do my renovations.
21:53Back safe, Mellie.
21:58Put that into the jack.
21:59We didn't try that one before.
22:01No.
22:02No way.
22:03Me 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 Bob's uncle and we'll be out of here.
22:21Get out of here.
22:31Well?
22:32It's not going 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.
22:52It's only gone up that mark.
22:53Oh, they're moving now.
23:00Can't take a trick.
23:08Brody!
23:11The thing with the lightning is, make one mistake with it and it'll kill you.
23:17Brody!
23:19There he is.
23:20You found him.
23:21You're a good girl.
23:22You're a good girl.
23:23Thanks for finding Brody for me, Bill.
23:31Well, there you go, Brody.
23:32There's your teammate.
23:34You're out of the rain.
23:36I'm going to go and eat mine.
23:38Can you fit any more potato in your mouth, Brody?
23:40Boy, you hungry or what?
23:41Starving.
23:42It's a good meal to have at the end of the day.
23:51We'll think about going, Brody.
23:52If you're good, we'll go.
23:56So what was your tally last night?
23:59The ugly spider I got.
24:02Here's the little mouse.
24:04A mouse?
24:05Yeah.
24:07Steve is on a mission to get a long-delayed load across the red centre of Australia while simultaneously catching up on some much-needed family time.
24:18I like to think I'm quite close to my grandkids.
24:21They're all good kids.
24:23I'm determined to spend the time with them that I didn't spend with my kids, but I'm struggling to find that time still.
24:33There's the border, mate.
24:36We'll 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.
24:57Oh, yeah.
24:59You young blokes, you've got to learn to see.
25:04It appears I missed the broken strap.
25:07I don't know how I missed that, too.
25:10It comes with experience, that ability to just notice things that aren't right.
25:16That's it, Brodie.
25:18I'll go around and tie it off.
25:21That rain is coming up behind us.
25:24I do know if that rain gets out here on this road in front of me, we won't do it.
25:32Now, I have to check my fuel.
25:34There's not much fuel in that tank.
25:36It's not good.
25:37I've got diesel in a belly tank under the front trailer.
25:42To enable long-distance hauls through the harsh Australian wilderness,
25:48Steve has set up a 1,000-litre fuel storage tank under his first trailer.
25:53He can pump fuel from there to the main tanks using a hose,
25:59as 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,
26:15and we're really low on fuel.
26:17I should fuel up here, but I'm going to take a punt.
26:22I'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.
26:41If 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-ton heavier bulldozer to haul
26:52almost 300 kilometres to Wanaka,
26:55before the road is scheduled to be closed in four hours' time.
26:59If we don't make the time to get there before they shut it,
27:03we're going to be stuck with, you know, 90 tonnes sitting on the road
27:06at four and a half metres wide blocking the whole road up.
27:10We've got enough pressure with the wider and 20-ton heavier,
27:13so the extra pressure's just given me the shits, really.
27:17We've got Paul out the front today,
27:20and Sarah, Paul's partner, she's coming today as well.
27:23I'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,
27:34his wife Wendy has flown in from Australia.
27:36It'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,
27:45because I've never been in a pilot vehicle before.
27:47This is the worst bit is getting out of this bloody town,
27:58because 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!
28:22Go!
28:26Paul, you're supposed to be in front of me?
28:27I've got to get him under the sheep bridge first.
28:32For f***ing sake.
28:35Give the law.
28:37Why 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...
28:45Makes his own rules.
28:47He's like, everything's got to be by the book,
28:49and then he f***ed it all up.
28:51There we go.
28:52Here we go, onto the motorway.
28:57Woo-hoo!
28:59You can tell we're 20 tonne heavier.
29:02That's what make this old girl work today.
29:06I'm just going to pop around on the left.
29:11Come around in front of you.
29:13Coming around...
29:15Probably did that a bit early, actually.
29:18You should have waited to the bottom of the hill, but never mind.
29:20Yeah, righto. I'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.
29:30Ah, Mr Rulebook, who f***ing was behind me before and he was supposed to go ahead of me?
29:36Righto, Wallace.
29:37Little bit of tension there with Paul and Sarah.
29:44Trouble in paradise.
29:46It's probably just settling in and getting the distances right.
29:50You know, everyone has a different idea where they should be and what they're doing.
29:56And 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?
30:02Ah, no. He's got to be able to go right.
30:04Oh, because he's turning.
30:05He's got to go under this bridge and it comes down on an angle.
30:13But if he went in there, he literally would have hit it.
30:16Shit, yeah. Wow.
30:18Yeah, you're all clear.
30:27He's not even warning tracks.
30:29Are you warning tracks or am I warning tracks?
30:314.3 guys, I couldn't get on the CB's here.
30:33So this next bridge is at 10 kilometres an hour and central.
30:45Roger that.
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.
30:59Oh, you f***ing go. I'm right behind you.
31:12Once I get there, you need to move forwards.
31:26Please don't talk on the CB to me like that.
31:29It's always hard when you're a couple working together because you're probably saying more than you should.
31:39If we learn to shut up, it would probably be a lot easier.
31:41Keeping around that guy, Mel.
31:42It's only going up that mark.
31:43It's hardly moving now, isn't it?
31:44Mel Michelson is racing the fading afternoon light.
31:57She needs to replace two drive tyres with a faulty jack and get her 28 tonne load over 300 kilometres to a timber mill to finally get paid for the job.
32:10Can you jack up a little bit by hand?
32:14We really need this loading.
32:17Just want to get out of here before the frickin' rain gets here.
32:20I don't even know if it's going up, though.
32:27Yeah, it is.
32:29Yeah, you're winning.
32:36Yep, it's high enough, Mallie.
32:38Right.
32:46God, it's just stuck there, eh?
32:48Great.
32:49Look, that is completely off the ground.
32:59Find me.
33:01Yeah, I've got to get it over that.
33:05Oops.
33:08Good girl.
33:12Now, this tyre can go f*** itself.
33:15Get on, bitch.
33:28Oh, yeah!
33:37Whew.
33:38You're good to go.
33:39Thank you for all your help.
33:42Not a problem.
33:43I'd better get out the heaven clouds over there.
33:46I mean, they're coming in quite fast, so...
33:53Just want to get out of here and down the mountain.
33:56I'm worried about this part the most.
34:02It's still quite wet.
34:04It's the first gear material.
34:11The ground feels okay.
34:13Like, it's still a bit slippery, but it's okay.
34:15Yee-haw!
34:20Finally made it to the gate and I've just pulled out on the road, so I'm pretty happy.
34:27Clouds are pretty black.
34:29But it's raining over there, definitely.
34:31Looks like it just got out of there in time.
34:34Being down, down and out for three or four days, like, I've missed two jobs that have come in.
34:42There's missed money and letting people down, like, 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.
34:54Just hit the Warrego Highway.
35:00Got some pretty good roads until I get near Dolly.
35:04Then head off into the night.
35:21The load from hell.
35:22When these logs come off, I'll have a happy customer who, luckily, understands why I'm late.
35:36But we can't help the weather, so that makes me happy when they're happy.
35:42Yes!
35:45Oh, my God, I'm so proud to say I am finally unloaded.
35:48So, after this, I'll go back to the farm and have a rest, and then tomorrow I'll go and get a beat of a load of firewood.
35:56And I've got to keep them wheels turning, because I haven't been earning.
36:00I reckon I've got about 30k to go there.
36:10I 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.
36:24But that's the gamble I'm about to take.
36:26We might do it, Brodie. We've got about a size K to go.
36:35We made it, Brodie.
36:40We made it, Brodie.
36:43We made it, Brodie.
36:46We made it, boy.
36:49We 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 into the front tank, right?
37:07That'll give us enough fuel to get into Alice Springs tomorrow.
37:10Sounds good.
37:20We're on the bitumen now.
37:22We've got 468 kilometres to go from here.
37:27I'm on a tight time schedule.
37:30We've got people who will be starting work a 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.
37:48Here we are, mate. Here we are.
37:53We'll go and see Matt and find out what's going on.
37:56All right.
37:57It's the old story in this business.
37:58Once again, we've gone hard to get here.
38:01And we're not going to unload today.
38:02We're going to unload tomorrow.
38:04It does frustrate you in that if I had known this earlier,
38:09maybe I would have gone a little bit slower and kept the truck a little bit cooler.
38:13So, nothing's going to happen today.
38:14Finally, it's in the yard.
38:15After five weeks, it's all here.
38:16And we're not unloading until tomorrow.
38:19Hi.
38:20Hello.
38:21Come through this way if you want.
38:22Brodie, you go.
38:23This is yours.
38:24All right.
38:25This is yours.
38:26How are you going to be?
38:27Good.
38:28Good.
38:29Good.
38:30Good.
38:31Good.
38:32Good.
38:33Good.
38:34Good.
38:35Good.
38:36Good.
38:37Good.
38:38Good.
38:39Good.
38:40Good.
38:41Good.
38:42Good.
38:43Good.
38:44Good.
38:45Good.
38:46Good.
38:47Good.
38:48Good.
38:49Good.
38:50Good.
38:51Gladens.
38:52Good.
38:53What was yours?
38:54In some ways I'm sort of happy that we're not unloading until tomorrow.
38:55Now I can relax a bit and take Brodie in to see a surprise.
38:57Did you guys want to have a hold of a snake?
38:59Brodie is a dead, keen naturalist.
39:02He just loves reptiles.
39:03She's going to come over your shoulders?
39:06Well, I'm taking him into the reptile centre.
39:09Doesn't feel that way, it's heavier than most little pithons.
39:12And now comes the bit where she strangles you.
39:17reptiles that was a cool thing to say oh look at him he's a beauty this is Frank
39:23he's a Spencer's goanna oh wow they do get big well Brody I hope you enjoyed
39:29that yeah that was awesome
39:35coming into Milton and built is where they've got all the main street of
39:39built ripped up
39:42I'm going to move these cones around this milk tanker here because you ain't going to get past
39:49oh my god he's actually moving clones I can't believe it normally he'd just be like
39:56yeah he should get around there now hauling an oversized combined mass of almost 90 tons
40:10in a 30 year old truck he's only driven once before sludge is relying on his problematic
40:17pilots Paul and Sarah when you've got your partner with you they have different ideas it's
40:23not a bit of roses have you heard any more about these roadworks and fruitlands Paul I just heard
40:32that they're closing the road at one o'clock we're going to be really really pushing it hard to get
40:40there like that the team have less than two hours to get through a scheduled road closure ahead or risk
40:50being forced to stop overnight after six o'clock we're not allowed to drive oversize so if they hold
40:56us up too long we're not going to make one again tonight here we go it's uh into the hills and the
41:02windy stuff and and this is where I've got to be super vigilant we're coming into the gorge now and
41:09I've got to be central in the middle of the road so they've got to stop all the cars well I don't
41:14know if you can hear me but there's two cars after the petrol tanker after that the road is closed
41:21pull over just pull in as far as you can go yep you gotta put the power dividers in now because the
41:40road's wet so that locks the arse end up giving us more drive hell shit
41:51it's just starting to get a little bit like the tires up just fighting trying to keep out on the
42:00dry bits of the road just to keep the traction otherwise we wouldn't have made it over that
42:06coming up to where the road closure isn't it's touch and go I don't know if we're gonna get this
42:14we've got a large transporter at 4.3 coming through it's about 90 ton we'll just go along quiet is that
42:33okay copy yeah that's all right yeah copy sludge yep no they're giving us the okay to come through
42:44we need to get authority just in time so we're cutting off here in four minutes of time beautiful thank
42:51thank you it's a pretty straight run home now
42:58well guys it's a big thank you mission completed
43:10good job dar
43:14to see him back here pretty much close to his old self it's fantastic I'm wrapped actually for him
43:24I was struggling after the accident am I good enough to to drive trucks again and to have done
43:32what I've done it's huge I'm probably lucky enough to have a second chance of life my father he wasn't
43:39lucky enough but I think he'd be proud of what I've done over the years sludge is back this time
43:45we've crossed the threshold and we're gonna do it again
Be the first to comment