Usually carrying boats, trailers or the like, Chris Barnes was carrying hay, deep in the tropics, on a blistering hot day, when he stopped to chat with Big Rigs.
The 45-year-old truckie drives a Western Star for Boat and Trailer Haulage, which is based at Mundoolun in Logan City.
“I don’t usually haul hay which I picked up at Mareeba on the Atherton Tablelands for horses down south,” he said.
Barnes also had a caravan on the back of his trailer from Innisfail and said he does move these often.
“Mostly I haul boats, trailers, vans, maybe a jet ski but never hay,” he said.
A truckie for the past eight years, Barnes said there were not enough rest areas for truckies along the Bruce Highway.
“Also we need a lot more pull off shoulders in case of breakdowns,” he said.
The first truck Barnes drove was a Mack Superliner which was nicknamed Chunky.
His favourite roadhouse is the BP Grafton which he still goes to despite the highway now bypassing it.
“I will detour to get there as the staff are friendly. The food is good too, especially the steak, and it has clean toilets and showers,” he said.
Barnes was looking forward to having Christmas and Boxing Day off over the break and had a New Year’s resolution. “I just hope that COVID-19 goes away and we can all have a better year than this one,” he said.