For the past eight years Gavin Ellis has worked for Trinity Petroleum and says he loves the job.
Ellis was driving a Kenworth T409 when Big Rigs saw him parked at a pull off area near Mareeba on a steamy hot summer day.
“I have been carrying fuel from Cairns to Cooktown and enjoy working for the company,” he said.
The first truck Ellis drove was a Freightliner Argosy when he worked for Tuxworth and Woods.
“I used to do the run to Karumba back then and the biggest red kangaroos you would ever see were around Croydon,” he said.
Based in Cairns, Ellis enjoys camping and fishing when he gets time off.
“I go fishing for freshwater barramundi around lake-lands,” he said.
Ellis added that he doesn’t stop at many roadhouses for food.
He rates the highway most challenging to drive on as the one between Mount Molloy and Mareeba.
His New Year’s resolution is, “To spend more time with family. I have two kids aged 13 and 15,” he said.
Another Trinity Petroleum employee – named Nathan who works at the Tolga service station and roadhouse – also came to the attention of Big Rigs.
On the same day, a distraught woman stopped there with a flat tyre, and even though Nathan was busy and it was not part of his normal duties, he pumped the tyre up for her.
She was glowing in her praise of Nathan when this writer pulled up there.