Seafood lovers would be happy with truckie Nathan Bennett who had delivered a huge load of prawns from Karumba to Townsville when Big Rigs saw him.
For the past 19 years, Nathan has worked for Exodas and he is based on the Gold Coast.
He says he was always going to be a truck driver, following in the footsteps of his long time truckie father John Bennett, who recently retired.
“I grew up around trucks,” he said.
Nathan, 43, was driving a Kenworth T900 which he said was a great truck.
“I am changing over trailers here and after having delivered the prawns will be going back to Karumba empty to pick up more,” he said.
The waters around Karumba abound with prawns. Located in the Gulf Country region of Queensland, it is 71km by road from Normanton and 920km from Townsville.
I recently travelled the road between Normanton and Karumba and was amazed at the number of kangaroos which hopped across it, making driving hazardous.
“There are many roos and some cows on the road and you have to be careful,” he said.
On his latest trip Nathan also made a delivery to the Normanton supermarket.
While on the road, Nathan says he enjoys stopping at the Bluewater Springs Roadhouse which is between the Lynd Junction and Charters Towers.
“Lots of truckies drop in there and they look after us. The highway along there has been upgraded and even the single lane sections are good,” Nathan said.
Though he added that more rest areas were required which cater for trucks, especially with the number of heavy vehicles in the far north.
“We need more with parking space for the big vehicles and toilets and shaded places,” he said.
Nathan rates the Bruce Highway generally as the most challenging road to travel along.
“It is a disgrace and many sections need more work,” he said.
When he gets time off, Nathan loves spending quality time with family.