Truck driver Shane Collett was enjoying a well-deserved day off watching the Northern Australia Beach Rugby 5s Championship held on Townsville Strand, when Big Rigs saw him.
The 53-year-old truckie drives a 2021 Iveco for Griffin Distributors and does a regular run between his home in Townsville to Cairns, which is 350 kilometres north along the Bruce Highway.
“I have been driving trucks here and in New Zealand for 35 years and this is a good company and the boss is great,” Shane said.
He added that he carries a variety of general goods and rates the highway between Ingham and Innisfail as rough.
“I am here at the Beach Rugby watching my son and it is very hot in the middle of the day,” he said.
Previously Shane drove a Kenworth T408 for Mendi.
“I have been in Australia since 2002. For many years in New Zealand I carted logs and I meet lots of Aussie drivers who are from over there. Some I went to school with,” he said.
During his travels Shane likes stopping at the Ginger’s Roadhouse in WA and barracks for the North Queensland Cowboys in the NRL.
“I played rugby union when I was a young bloke in New Zealand,” he said.
When he gets time off, Shane loves playing his guitar and riding his Harley motorbike.
Whilst the temperatures were in the thirties the day I saw Shane, he enjoyed watching the action.
And to cool off he could have a swim in the enclosure nearby.