Wayne Lavarini is the Operations Manager for Neal Bros, based at Bohle in North Queensland.
The 44-year-old was tending to his Volvo when Big Rigs saw him at the Townsville Port Access Road. “I am helping out today and the Volvo is carrying poly pipe from Toowoomba,” he said.
Born at Ingham, which is 110km north of Townsville along the Bruce Highway, Lavarini enjoys stopping at the Bohle Puma Roadhouse.
I asked him what’s the worst road he has been along and he revealed a special name for the Rolleston to Springsure road, which he described as challenging.
“I refer to it as the Rolleston-coaster,” he said in obvious reference to a rollercoaster.
Lavarini has been a truckie for 24 years and worked with this company for two decades.
Living in an area of the tropics which abounds with creeks and rivers, Lavarini enjoys camping and fishing when he gets time off.
“I also get out to the Great Barrier Reef fishing sometimes and have caught coral trout and red emperor,” he said.
The first truck he drove was a Kenworth K100 and he barracks for the local team, the Cowboys, in the NRL.