Before leaving Iraq, Wally Sales had been a jeweller but is now a very happy long haul Aussie truck driver.
Wally, 61, was having a break beside the Volvo he drives for DK Transport and Logistics out of Sydney and said he had never been a truckie back in his native Iraq.
“I came to Australia in 1997 and love it here. It is a lot different to being a jeweller but this is a great job and I have been able to see many parts of Australia which is now my permanent home,” he said.
Wally was in Townsville and carrying an array of circus equipment which had been used there and was about to head south.
“I will be taking it to the Gold Coast for a circus,” he added.
Wally says the worst highway he travels on is the Bruce and I asked if he could nominate a stretch which is particularly bad, to which he replied, “Most of it is very rough.”
Wally said there could be more rest areas for drivers in some areas, but in some places there is enough.
His favourite roadhouse is the BP Cluden for various reasons, including its close vicinity to a major shopping centre that is well within a comfortable walking distance.
“The staff at the roadhouse are good and the facilities clean,” he said.
A connoisseur of fine food, Wally carries a gas cooker in the truck and after getting some ingredients from the supermarket had just cooked his lunch.
“I like Chinese and rice dishes,” he said.
It was very hot that day around noon and Wally had set up a camp chair on the shady side of the Volvo to rest and eat. Outside work, Wally plays soccer around Sydney with friends and in a social competition.
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