A qualified chef, Mark Trollope, 48, switched to driving trucks 15 years ago and said it was a great decision.
He was parked up in the tropics, sitting in the Mack Trident he drives for Doncal Transport out of Brisbane, when we chatted with him recently.
“I have a load of swimming pools from Brisbane and travel all over Australia but mainly from southern Queensland up to Cairns and Port Douglas,” he said.
I mentioned a pool full of water would not go astray that day as the temperature was sitting on 35°C. “It is burning hot outside today,” Mark agreed.
Mark is from New Zealand and never drove trucks until he arrived down under in 2001.
“I took up truck driving 15 years back and love the job and everything about it,” he said.
When Mark revealed that he had been a chef, I asked if he did a lot of cooking when off duty. “When I am at home I do,” he said.
His favourite food when on the highway is a mixed grill and he likes stopping at the Raglan Tavern near Rockhampton.
“They serve good food and the staff are friendly,” Mark said.
He added that the worst road he gets on is the Marlborough stretch of the Bruce Highway between Rockhampton and Sarina.
When Mark left the driver’s seat of the Mack to have his picture snapped, I noticed he was very tall. “I was 198cm the last time I measured myself,” he said.
I asked if that was an advantage or a hindrance.
“Outside work I am popular with my mates who always ask me to paint their ceiling!” he laughed.
Mark’s hobby is fishing the creeks around Brisbane. I asked if he has any luck?
“I catch some flathead and will take anything that goes past my rod,” he said.
During the NRL football season, Mark barracks for the New Zealand Warriors.