- 8 hours ago
Rookie Truckers Season 1 Episode 1
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Short filmTranscript
00:00But now, after decades behind the wheel, a generation of drivers is about to retire.
00:08We have a massive crisis, a driver shortage.
00:11So me and my mates are going to do what we can to pass the torch and get the next
00:15generation ready.
00:16He reckons he wants to be thrown in the deep end, I'm throwing him in at 100 miles an hour.
00:21I think I have a problem.
00:24Living the dream.
00:26This is so bloody stressful.
00:27Across the hull.
00:28Come on buttercup, you'll be alright.
00:30I have faith in you.
00:32If the trucks stop, the nation stops.
00:46I've been driving these bangers here for 55 years, something like that.
00:55I'm getting up to 10 million kilometres, the equivalent of 10 times to the moon and back.
01:02I've got a couple of good mates coming in today.
01:05My name's Sludge and I'm 57.
01:10I've done everything.
01:12Dangerous goods, fuel, out in no man's land.
01:16It's a tough job.
01:19My name is Glen Yogi Kendall and I'm 48.
01:26I've been trucking for about 27 years.
01:30I've done general, I've done overnight, I've done parcel freight.
01:35I can go from anywhere in Australia to anywhere in Australia.
01:38It takes a very special type of person to become a distance truck prop.
01:42I'm going to ask them to give me a hand.
01:44Good to see you fellas, good to see you.
01:46Hi mate, nice to see you.
01:47Yogi, good to see you mate after all this time.
01:50Well fellas, there's a real problem in our industry.
01:53There's not enough new truckies stepping up to the plate.
01:56There's a lot of jobs and no one's full of jobs.
01:58You know, we're responsible for making sure that supermarket shelves are full.
02:02That hospitals have got the equipment that they need.
02:04Everything comes on a truck.
02:05Third biggest industry in Australia.
02:07Yeah.
02:08We need people to step up and fill the gaps.
02:10Between our three brains, there's so much swimming around in the head there.
02:13We've got a lot of knowledge.
02:14Let's share it with some people.
02:16I've contacted a few rookies who want to give it a fair go.
02:19We need to go and instill a bit of knowledge.
02:21Yeah, spend a bit of time with them.
02:22Spend a bit of time.
02:23Let's get these rookies ready for Australian roads.
02:25Some of the harshest environments in the world.
02:27Yep.
02:28We will have them on Australian roads doing it the right way.
02:31I'm pleased to have you on the team.
02:32Let's pass it on fellas.
02:42I just finished a job up in Broome and I'm on my way south home.
02:46But I'm coming up to Mount Magnet and there's a rookie I've got my eye on that's going to
02:51be in Magnet this afternoon.
02:52A young fellow out of Ireland, Eric Scully.
02:55Eric's been here in Australia under a year and he's worked his way into quad road trains
02:59already.
03:01You know, in Western Australia, iron ore mining is worth about $140 billion a year.
03:06And it's big money to be made driving the quads that carry it.
03:09We're talking four trailer road trains, 200 tons and plus.
03:20I know that Eric's a bit of a snap happy character.
03:23I've got three likes getting out on social media.
03:28I'm telling you, the animals in Australia are f***ed.
03:33Stupid.
03:35I swear to God.
03:37I swear to God.
03:37Look at the mountain of those jetting things.
03:40And he's fed up and f***ed.
03:42Jesus Christ.
03:44Oh, you f***ing bastard.
03:54I'm going to go and have a chat with him.
03:57He's got one of the biggest rigs around.
03:59200 plus tons, 98 wheels on the road.
04:02I've got to be happy in my mind that he's not a loose cannon out there rattling around
04:07on our highways with that sort of gear.
04:14Eric.
04:15Hi.
04:16Nice to meet you.
04:17Good to meet you in person mate.
04:18Very good.
04:18Yeah.
04:19So having fun on social media gave me some impressions in my mind that I just wanted
04:24to straighten out with you.
04:25I hope that's not the real Eric.
04:27Oh God, no.
04:28You pick your moments.
04:29You think you're the king of the road and you think you know it from being back home.
04:32You get humbled when you come out here because you don't know anything.
04:36Oh, well, I'm really pleased to hear about that because we don't want loose cannons
04:39running around in quads.
04:41No.
04:41Coming from a nice little green country like Ireland, how do you like the vastness of the
04:46Australian Outback, mate?
04:48How are you handling that?
04:49Being alone in essentially a box, it's something that you definitely have to build your mental
04:57strength up to.
04:58One thing that I suppose always gets me through my days, I'm forever on FaceTime with my mother.
05:06I'm never afraid to pick up the phone.
05:09Good on you, mate.
05:12That's a big part of it, being out here on country.
05:15Yeah.
05:15That's why I'm annoying you and mentoring you.
05:18Absolutely.
05:19To try and give you some advice so that you're out there in the public domain with the rest
05:22of us.
05:23Yep.
05:23And we're all mixing it up safely.
05:25It's been an absolute pleasure.
05:26Take care of yourself out there, alright?
05:27Thank you very much.
05:28You too.
05:28I'm very upbeat.
05:30Under that outgoing extrovert exterior, there's a sensible, responsible, deep thinking driver
05:39that in there.
05:39There's a good bloke in there.
05:54First day in the Superquiet.
05:55First time I've ever pulled one, so yeah, it's a massive step up for me.
06:00For the likes of Steve to turn around and say, yeah, nah, you're a good buck.
06:04Keep the wheels turning, it's a really good feeling.
06:07I mean, he's an absolute icon for anybody who loves trucks.
06:11So, yeah, for him to give me the AOK, it meant an awful lot.
06:15You know, I reckon Eric's got all the qualities that we need in a rookie.
06:19He hasn't got the experience yet.
06:21My big worry is, I wonder how he's going to go out there on his own with the isolation.
06:27He's got to be on his game, that boy.
06:29I'll call him later, check on how he's going.
06:33But, I'm going to leave him to it and get this load home.
06:37Check your tires.
06:39If they're silent, that's when you've got a problem.
06:43It will eventually just go bang and rip the whole lot around it off.
06:50Pretty much ready to roll now?
06:52Oh yeah, one more thing.
06:54We could not possibly go without giving her the cross to keep me safe.
06:58This is holy water from Nock, back home in Ireland.
07:00Renowned for being really holy stuff.
07:03Powerful.
07:04If it was alcohol, it would be like vodka.
07:06My mother sent it out to me and she made me promise to bless my truck.
07:09Did you bless the truck?
07:11I did, ma'am, I did.
07:12She's blessed from head to toe.
07:14The Pope would be proud of me.
07:16Hopefully we won't have any problems on our trip.
07:24Hello, here we go.
07:25First time driving the quad.
07:33Yeah, superquad rolling out there from the servo.
07:40It's a long truck.
07:41Look, I nearly need my doculars to see the back of it.
07:47Time to head the outback.
07:52Eric will drive 380 kilometres from Mount Magnet to pick up iron ore at Waluna.
07:59Then it's 530 kilometres to drop it off in Kalgoorlie before returning to Waluna to repeat the journey.
08:08It's a total of almost two and a half thousand kilometres, taking four brutal 15 hour days.
08:20My God, she's long.
08:22It is twice the size of anything I've ever driven.
08:26That's in weight, length, axles, tyres, you name it.
08:29It's twice the size at least.
08:33In the UK, the biggest trucks are 18.55 metres long.
08:38In the USA, 24.4 metres.
08:42Western Australian quad combination trucks are 60 metres long and carry 200 tonnes fully loaded.
08:51It feels empowering to be on the road with a superquad.
08:54The longest combination you'll see on a public road in the world.
08:58To be heading for the mine pulling something like this.
09:02It's definitely something I'm proud to be doing.
09:10You've got four trailers behind you swaying.
09:16One thing I was told when I started driving road trains is, your mirrors are for when you're going backwards.
09:21When you're going forwards, don't look at them.
09:24Because all you'll do is you'll give yourself anxiety.
09:26Because you'll watch those trailers bounce and sway.
09:29The more that happens, the more you try and correct it, and the more you're actually making them bounce and
09:34sway.
09:44Copy in the oversize.
09:47When you get a clear straight, let me know and I'll try and come round.
09:51So that's a five metre long load.
09:53But the trailer itself is four metres wide.
09:57I want a dead straight run that I can see for at least a kilometre coming up the road.
10:03So that I have a chance to get every single part of this truck around him and in without putting
10:08myself under any pressure.
10:09As you get to the right hand lane, might take 30 seconds to a minute.
10:14I don't know, but it feels like a long time.
10:16Here's a prime example of what you want to avoid.
10:19So there's a cow on the side of the road.
10:21They are like, oh man, there's a flock of them.
10:24Every one of those guys there are liable to run out in front of me.
10:33That's a big unit.
10:35Well, boys, whenever you're ready, you just give me the heads up and I'll come round.
10:40Hold on, hold on, you've got incoming.
10:46This is definitely one of the more challenging aspects of the job.
10:50You've been going after the squad, Bob.
10:52Right, oh, I'll start winding her up.
10:55Take it in performance mode, just so I have every bit of beans to get the speed up and get
11:00past him as quick as I can.
11:04Right, oh, I'm going to put her in the right hand lane there now and come around.
11:06Come on.
11:16This is definitely not where you want to be.
11:20Up the bend, up the road.
11:22Yeah, man, I'm not going for this one on the bend.
11:24It's not a hope. I'm going to just pull in behind you, right?
11:26No, you keep it going, mate. Keep it going, man.
11:37So Steve sent me over here to see Shelley Roseby.
11:40She's starting off tomorrow with a new job.
11:43She's carting hay tomorrow, which she hasn't carted.
11:45Hay's one of the shit things to cart.
11:47It moves and floats around on a trailer.
11:50So he's just sent me over to try and get her up to speed and help her out.
11:55Beautiful way out here.
11:57My name is Shelley Roseby.
11:58I'm 40 and I'm from Gunnedah, New South Wales.
12:05I live here with my husband, Matt, and our beautiful children, Sam, Harriet, Tilly and Gigi.
12:11We've got a cropping and livestock farm.
12:13We have beef cattle.
12:15But I'm a PE teacher and primary school teacher by trade.
12:18That's where I've spent the majority of my time.
12:21I've got a lot of history in the family with trucking.
12:24I remember being in the truck from a baby and it was always a happy place.
12:27That's the dream. Go full-time truck driving.
12:30Hello!
12:31How are you? Lovely to meet you.
12:33So I hear you want to sort of start your own transport company and get bigger and better.
12:38That's the plan. So hopefully this will be the first baby and then we'll go onwards and upwards from there.
12:43With our own farming and having to pay for haulage of our grain, it was becoming too much of an
12:49expense and something that we had to eliminate and the only way we could do that is by buying a
12:53truck.
12:53We purchased it for $40,000.
12:56It was probably the most stress that we've ever felt financially as a family, but we had to take that
13:01leap and risk it.
13:03So the goal now is to actually make money from the truck.
13:06She's got to get it viable, she's got to get her licence up and get two trailers on the thing
13:10and start making some serious money and pay the truck off and make it all work.
13:17Shelly's licence to drive a heavy combination vehicle, a truck with a trailer connected by a pivot joint.
13:24With Sludge's guidance, she's aiming for the highest class of heavy vehicle licence in Australia, a multi combination or MC,
13:33which would allow her to drive B doubles and triples.
13:38For a fuel efficiency, it just doesn't make sense to be running one trailer.
13:41We get paid per tonne over here, so I really have to step it up and that's the big goal,
13:46the big need to get the MC licence.
13:48That's the next step.
13:49That's the next step.
13:49Two trailers.
13:51You've got some time to teach me.
13:51So have you done some backing and stuff?
13:53We're two trailers?
13:54Yeah.
13:55No, I've never even driven with two trailers.
13:56Oh my God.
13:58So that's, well that's in its own.
13:59I heard you're a good teacher.
14:00I'm a good teacher, don't I?
14:02So I hear you've got a big job coming up tomorrow.
14:04I've got a couple of firsts to sort of tick off, so going and picking up some hay and my
14:10sisters are actually coming over.
14:11They'll be in trucks as well.
14:12So we're going to run that over the mountain to mum and dads.
14:15I haven't carted a full load of hay on a semi before.
14:19The hay is a shit of a thing.
14:20The hay just jumps off.
14:22Yeah, no, it's pretty nerve-wracking.
14:23It's a bit daunting.
14:25Very daunting.
14:25And especially, you know, you haven't been driving that long.
14:28No.
14:28Even though it's tied on, hay's still a shit of a load that can move and slide.
14:32So she's got to be super smooth and gentle.
14:36Oh, here we go.
14:37Here we go.
14:39I've got a little test that I want to play on her.
14:41So I'm going to fill a drum up with water and put it on the back of her truck and
14:44get her to take me for a bit of a run.
14:46And she's not allowed to spill the water.
14:47I'm going to give her a shit if she spills the water.
14:52So when we get up here, the shed, we're going to do a lap around the shed.
15:03Oh, I can see it coming out the top.
15:07Oh shit.
15:08Oh shit.
15:09Oh, not smooth.
15:11That's the problem.
15:13Yeah, well, the hay will fall off if you're not smooth.
15:18Rookie error.
15:18Brake before you get to corners and drive around the corner.
15:22You don't brake halfway around the corner.
15:25Gently.
15:31Hey, Angel.
15:34Shelly's truck has a notoriously complicated gearbox.
15:37An 18-speed Eaton Fuller Road Ranger.
15:42With a splitter button and a range button, the gear shifter is used in complex combinations to shift between gears,
15:49high and low range, and bottom, middle and top gearboxes.
15:58If you are gearing down and you do cock it up, jump two or three in one hit.
16:04Don't try and go to the one you are going to.
16:06Bypass it and do two.
16:10Wow.
16:11Well done.
16:16Stop.
16:17Stop.
16:23Oh, there's water coming out of it.
16:25That is not nice.
16:27Yeah.
16:28But at least I know you can actually use the brakes.
16:31You did well.
16:31Is it still upright?
16:33I don't know.
16:36How did we go?
16:38Oh, there you go.
16:39It's got a measuring thing on it.
16:4190.
16:42So you've lost 20.
16:44What was the worst part?
16:45But I reckon the drum slipped on the floor.
16:48That might have been going around that corner fast.
16:50I'd prefer not to lose any probably.
16:53There's room for improvement.
16:54But I am surprised.
16:55It's better than what I thought.
16:58I was shitting myself about this.
17:04The Hay Run is for Shelley's parents who need it trucked to their farm.
17:09But it'll be a severe test.
17:13It will take her along some of New South Wales' most treacherous roads.
17:20From Gunnedah, she's taking on the Oxley Highway.
17:25380 kilometres to her parents' farm in Kempsey.
17:29Up the steep pass at Moonby.
17:31And along the dangerous, narrow, winding roads that cross the Great Dividing Range.
17:39I've never driven that road with a semi full of hay.
17:43So that's going to be a huge learning curve and a challenge I'm petrified about.
17:47The load she's taking over this road is a tough ask for any trucker.
17:51Let alone a rookie that's never done one before.
17:53So it's going to be a big push for her.
17:57I've got three sisters and we've always grown up really close.
18:01And still, even though we're a few hundred kilometres apart, we speak to each other every day.
18:05Hello. Nice to meet you.
18:07I'll have a truck and we'll be all going in convoy.
18:10It gives me more confidence doing it when I have them with me.
18:14Four sisters that drive trucks, that's a bit of a handful.
18:17It's what we do.
18:18We've got a farm.
18:19Yep.
18:20So we use the trucks to cart the cattle, to cart the hay.
18:23Yeah, it's not really an optimal time to get the hay given the weather,
18:26but we've had flooding over it on the coast.
18:28So we need to supplement feed the cows until the grass comes back.
18:33Yeah, but everyone's still got to be fed, don't they?
18:35Yeah, they do. They do.
18:36And that's the trouble.
18:45Yeah, keep coming a bit.
18:48That'll do. Stop there.
18:50Oh, shit.
18:52It's a big load of hay, even for a person like me.
18:56Like, I'd be very careful with that load of hay.
18:59It's a pretty big effort for a first run. It's too much.
19:02The girls are worried that it's too big a load.
19:04Going out through the mountain pass is what they're concerned about.
19:09Being a rookie, she is green, she is learning,
19:12so we don't want anything stupid to happen first time out.
19:16You're the driver.
19:18Mate, you're cool.
19:18What do you want to do?
19:20Do you think it will unsettle the load too much to take off the top layer?
19:24If we can get a top layer off it, it'll make no difference.
19:29Well, let's look at taking a layer off.
19:31Right, let's go and see if we can get one off.
19:32Yes.
19:34So the call's been made now to unload the top layer.
19:38That's it, real slow.
19:41Stop!
19:50Rookie truckin'.
19:51We'll get a ride.
19:53This is just as well I decided to stay and give her a little hand today.
20:04I reckon that's alright, eh?
20:06Let's get it back in the shed.
20:12Wrong way!
20:16Other way!
20:17Straighten your truck up!
20:19You're straight now!
20:20Straighten your wheel!
20:22Whoa!
20:24Go forward!
20:25She has to move!
20:26Go forward and come over!
20:31I can't get her f***ing gear!
20:34Go forward and you need to move the back of the trailer over to your right.
20:38Forward.
20:39Alright, swing your truck over to the left.
20:43Righto, stop there!
20:46Okay, now come back in and put the left hand down.
20:49And that'll move the trailer over to the right.
20:53Bit more, harder!
20:54Straighten up!
20:57Now straighten up!
20:58Slow down!
21:00Chase your trailer!
21:02Chase your trailer with the truck!
21:03Chase!
21:04Stop!
21:05Stop!
21:07F***!
21:11That's a big unit.
21:13The trailer is four metres wide.
21:18Yeah man, I'm not going for this one on the Benz, not at home.
21:20Keep it going man!
21:22There's a taller left foot, mate!
21:24Taller left the old side, everything down for ya!
21:26Alright, oh no problem.
21:27I appreciate that boys.
21:29Still clear up the front.
21:32Get them going!
21:34I'm gonna pack her down.
21:36This is definitely not where you want to be.
21:41Stand to where the Mary's!
21:48Don't f*** up in your mirror!
21:55Oh lads!
22:03Oh lads!
22:04Oh lads!
22:07I don't ever want to do that again.
22:10That is one of those situations where you get a cold shiver down your spine.
22:17You're not going to see something like that in Ireland.
22:19But yeah, to have something five metres wide just barrelling down the road that you have to just deal with.
22:25It's...
22:26It's not something that happens.
22:28The dump trucks that'll be that size.
22:30If you were to put one of those in Ireland and fill up the bucket, so we'd have no country
22:33left.
22:34We'd be swimming.
22:43I'd better check in with Eric and see how he's going I think.
22:51Steve, how are you getting out?
22:52Not bad, Eric. What about you, mate?
22:54I had to get around a five metre wide oversize. That was a challenge definitely with the size of a
23:02yoke that I am.
23:03And to be fair, I didn't realise that there was a pilot up the road. I actually thought I was
23:07communicating with the driver.
23:08I do understand mistakes will be made and we've just got to learn from them.
23:12Establish who you're talking to and then go.
23:14That's it, yeah.
23:16Just keep an eye on your fatigue, you know, you're out there by yourself.
23:20Yeah.
23:20Well, that can get you down a bit if you let it get hold of you.
23:23Yeah. But I just have to, I suppose, keep reminding me that what I'm doing is, for me, and it's
23:29important.
23:30Yeah. I'm pleased you're handling it. You've worked out a way to stay on top of it and you're still
23:36doing it. Good.
23:37No problem. I appreciate it.
23:38Good on you, mate. You take care, eh?
23:40Bye-bye.
23:55You can see, as far to the horizon, there's very little to actually look at out here.
24:06You're sat here, on your own, in a little box, with nothing to take your mind off your mind.
24:14So you've no choice but to sit here with yourself and stew, think.
24:19So that can, that can play, play games with your head.
24:25Effectively, what you're doing is, you're gone into solitary.
24:28Prisoners don't even go into solitary for as long as you do.
24:33It's definitely, it's not a job, it's a lifestyle.
24:37And it's one that has its, um, its downfalls.
24:48There we go.
24:49Howdy-oh.
24:50We're, eh, pretty much here.
24:57Just pulling into the mine, so...
25:00This is where we gotta put the, the theory, into reality.
25:04It's one thing to put an empty trailer.
25:07It's, eh, it's another thing when there's, eh, 132 tonnes of a payload going into it.
25:12So, um, yeah, it's been, eh, it's been exciting up until now, but, eh, this is where it gets real.
25:23When you're going in and out of the line, you wanna try and keep the dust to a minimum.
25:28Obviously, you're in the outback, so, you kinda can't.
25:32Because, well, it's made of dust.
25:39What's the rest of the number, mate?
25:42D-C-T-1-4-4-1.
25:46D-C-T-1-4-4-1.
25:49D-C-T-1-4-1-4-4-1.
25:51Important, as an Irish book, we are trying to communicate with guys.
25:56Apparently, we are hard to understand.
25:58I don't see how. We speak perfectly normally. The rest of the world has the problem.
26:02But, ehm, yeah.
26:04Slow, steady.
26:061-4-4-1.
26:10And then they hear us.
26:11And sometimes they don't.
26:13But it's okay.
26:14Because it means I get to talk to somebody other than myself.
26:21Right, that's that. We're here. We're about to get loaded.
26:24Drop the air on my seat, because otherwise I can't reach the controls.
26:27Put it in neutral, so that my truck doesn't try to drive off when I rev it up.
26:32And...
26:37Right now, we are being loaded with iron ore in our first trailer.
26:42We are going to get...
26:4417 tons.
26:47So, in total, we are allowed a payload of 132.96 tons.
26:54That's a lot of tons.
26:57Now, we are on to our final trailer.
27:02Soon enough, we'll be rolling out.
27:06But I have already identified a challenge.
27:10The location we've loaded...
27:12Right at the bottom of the hill.
27:16It's going to be painful...
27:18To even get this thing moving.
27:21Let alone getting it up the hill.
27:26Do you want to roll back a bit?
27:28You'd better run up that hill.
27:30Or you'll be alright.
27:32Yeah, no, I'll roll her back.
27:36Quads are not something that's been designed to go backwards.
27:41Yeah, they'll probably do you, man. Just try there.
27:44And again, Irish people aren't exactly designed to drive quads.
27:47So, it's a win-win.
27:52Oh, lads. This is not fun.
27:55Run!
27:59What you doing, mate?
28:02I tell you, I need to do it.
28:09Straighten your truck up now.
28:10Straighten your truck.
28:13Slow down, ride the clutch a bit, Shell.
28:16Straighten the front wheel up.
28:19Okay, that's it. Just keep coming back.
28:21Steady.
28:24Righto, steady up.
28:25Ride the clutch a bit.
28:26That'll do it. Leave it there, please.
28:29Jesus, what sort of trucker are you?
28:31This is so bloody stressful.
28:33Come on, buttercup. You'll be alright.
28:36Grab this here.
28:36We can get up there to do the tarp, so it's all that matters.
28:39Yep.
28:40We're back on track again.
28:41So now we're just pulling the tarp down, getting her all tied up nice and neatly.
28:45We don't need anything happening on her first load.
28:47And it is her first load of hay, so it's got to be right.
28:50It's looking good.
28:52I've got a job that I've got to get done.
28:54So I'll head off now and then I'll get in touch with her tonight or tomorrow
28:58and see how she's gone, just to make sure it's all gone well for her.
29:00Thanks for everything.
29:01Okay.
29:03Love yourself.
29:03Thank you for all your help.
29:04Alright, see you girls.
29:06Safe travels.
29:18To help warn her of approaching hazards on the journey,
29:22riding in convoy are Shelley's sisters, Jodie and Amy,
29:26and niece Alyssa.
29:29First challenge, Moonby Rage.
29:31From here we'll head out, Moonby.
29:37Here we go.
29:38First one's a steep one, so it's a really hard, long pull.
29:42It can be so difficult if you don't get the gears right,
29:45and that's what I'm really dreading.
29:54Come on down.
29:56Keep slipping through the gears, mate.
30:00See now, Sludge Tommy, if I miss it, go to the next one.
30:06Come on.
30:08And I've missed it again.
30:10Oh, come on, babe.
30:11Work with me.
30:14Ugh.
30:16All right, red.
30:17Red.
30:18Gear.
30:23I can't get a gear.
30:26Just keep working through.
30:33I've found, I've found third.
30:35You all right?
30:36Just keep it going.
30:38As long as you've got a gear and your temperature's right,
30:41you'll be fine.
30:42There's nothing wrong with the gearbox.
30:44It's the driver.
30:46It's a fair bit steeper.
30:51Hey, hey, hey.
30:52Not too hard on her.
30:53Keep your revs down into an appropriate level.
31:00Nearly missed her coming up.
31:05Keep an eye on those gauges.
31:08She's almost there.
31:10Can't you taste the finish line?
31:14That's Moonby Range.
31:16Accomplished.
31:16Rookie shell.
31:17Cool.
31:18All done and dusted, mate.
31:19Well done.
31:19My foot is just like f***ing shaking.
31:23You were looking for the truck.
31:24My foot is like...
31:27You know, from nerves.
31:29Little cherry puff there.
31:33Holy jelly.
31:38Shelley has no time to celebrate.
31:41Now, she has to negotiate the notorious
31:44Walker Mountain.
31:46This is the biggest challenge of the day.
31:50The pool over Walker Mountain.
31:53There's so many blind corners.
31:56It can be a really dangerous road.
31:58It's unfortunate, but it has killed a lot of people.
32:03Really tight, windy, hilly.
32:05A lot of corners, you're on the wrong side of the road,
32:07getting around the corners of the flat top 45 foot.
32:10Getting over this mountain will be interesting.
32:12And especially, you know, she hasn't done it before.
32:17I am nervous.
32:18Definitely.
32:19100% I'm nervous.
32:20It's a road that I've not driven with such a big load on.
32:26And such a long trailer.
32:28The length of the trailer will really change my course of trajectory around those corners.
32:38The trailer cuts across the corner, so if I'm not out far enough when I take that corner, then the
32:43trailer will cut across straight behind me.
32:45They're so tight.
32:47But always got to be really vigilant about what's coming the other way.
32:53We've got Jode up ahead.
32:55She'll call anything that's coming around any of those tight corners that I need to sort of hug the line
33:00or get over the other side of the line for.
33:03And then Amy's behind us.
33:05She'll let us know if anything's behind.
33:09Car.
33:10Ben.
33:10Ben.
33:11And Link Reader and Carabee.
33:13Roger.
33:16On a bad, bad corner.
33:20Keep it high, Shel.
33:22Keep it high.
33:23Keep her up, Shel.
33:24Keep her up.
33:39That's it.
33:40Keep on.
33:41It's very bloody narrow.
33:45Thanks, mate.
33:47I could see.
33:48I should have been in the gutter.
33:50But look, that's my arrow.
33:54Motorbike coming.
33:55I need that sideways.
33:57Oh, no, it's careful.
33:59Yeah, you had to readjust then.
34:00Far out.
34:02He was coming very fast.
34:06The challenge of this road really takes over people when they're on their motorbikes.
34:17Crapstone for 40-something kilometres.
34:21Almost hold your breath.
34:23Because I've seen how it ends.
34:28About 10 years ago, I was actually driving this road in a car.
34:32And I was the first responder to a motorcycle accident.
34:37We did CPR for over an hour.
34:39We didn't survive, unfortunately.
34:40And it was really hard to, I guess, walk away from that situation knowing that, you know, he wasn't going
34:53home.
34:53His family were never seeing him again and that we were the last people to sort of see him alive.
34:57So, like, I didn't sleep then.
35:00I was on my way to mum and dad's and I remember lying there thinking, you know, that his partner
35:04would have been told by then and what she would have been going through.
35:08Like, you don't want anyone to sort of think about that and what his children would have been going through.
35:14Like, it's really awful.
35:15I just, um, trudging.
35:20Really trudging.
35:21Like, no idea.
35:31What if you'd have been there?
35:37What if you'd have been there?
35:43What if you'd have been there?
35:50That's a good sense!
35:52It's beautiful, isn't it?
35:59It's a great feeling knowing that I've come over there and done it for the first time.
36:04If you've got the ability in this field to get over there and drive that road safely,
36:09you can navigate anything, really.
36:11So it's good for the next steps that I would want to take in regards to getting that next licence.
36:17So it's really good practice for me and really good experience to get.
36:23Just heading into Kempsey, so we're on the home stretch to deliver this hay,
36:28so that's a really good feeling.
36:30Thanks, girls. Can't believe we've made it.
36:32You're welcome, mate. No worries. You had a great trip over. You drove really well.
36:37Yeah, mate, thanks for stepping up and bringing this load over for us.
36:39It's a fantastic help for us.
36:41Next time, we'll put the extra layer on the top.
36:50It's so good to be here.
36:54Hey, sludge.
36:55Hello. How are you?
36:56Yeah, good. Thanks, mate.
36:57How have you been going?
36:59We've got over the mountain and conquered it.
37:02Oh, beautiful.
37:04Did you lose any?
37:06No, didn't lose any.
37:07Oh, you've done great. Congratulations.
37:09Thanks for all your advice yesterday to get us over the mountain today.
37:12That's all good.
37:13All right. Have fun.
37:14See ya. Hooroo. Bye. Thank you. Bye.
37:18Good to share that and have that positive sort of reinforcement that you've done the right thing and that things
37:23went well.
37:26How are ya, babe?
37:29I couldn't be prouder.
37:30She's taken these steps to start her trucking career really by herself and probably she did better than I had
37:37expected because she hasn't had as much driving experience, especially on that type of road.
37:42But, yeah, I couldn't be prouder.
37:44Yeah, no, it's such a good sense of relief to get it done and dusted.
37:47Yeah, I'm super impressed and super proud that she's actually pulled it off. It's really good. It's good to see.
38:10You're in the quad. Come on, Mike. You're fully loaded. Get outta here.
38:19I'll drive over there for you, I'll tell you.
38:22Yeah, show him how to drive it over.
38:25Jesus Christ.
38:28Unbelievable.
38:33Hold on, I think I might have done something.
38:36Just leave it in that gear and crawl over the top.
38:39Yeah, we'll do.
38:42Yeah, we are rolling out, just about.
38:47Might very nearly good for you to get it rolling.
38:52This is a bit embarrassing.
38:56I'm doing it.
38:57I'm here in Australia, I drive it to be massive ropes.
39:04Would this mean that I can now claim to be the king of the road of Ireland?
39:17We are officially leaving the mine, a full load, which will put us roughly around the 195 ton back.
39:31So yeah, this is where it gets real.
39:35This is it.
39:35This is the pinnacle.
39:36This is what I've come to do.
39:40So let's just go and do it.
39:45Oh, f***.
39:46That was close.
39:48You got my wing mirror.
39:50I'm very very sorry about that buddy.
40:04This has been an embarrassing run, but eh, I'm going to do it, but yeah, it can get any worse.
40:18Problem, problem, problem.
40:22Welcome to superquads, huh?
40:26We've got ourselves into this bit of a mess.
40:28If I keep coming, that triaxle will scrape off the face of that rock.
40:32The very same as the Titanic did the iceberg.
40:35Oh, you don't do it to me.
40:39So what's up, Eric, old son?
40:41I've run out of fuel.
40:42Oh, and I thought of it in oil and it didn't.
40:45Ah, why?
40:47It is never ending.
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