JILL THE "TRUCKIE"

 

(HA HA)

 

 

 

Well, on Saturday I was able to spend the day

with Dave, carting hay.

The only difference this time,

was that I got to drive the road train!!

 

Yes, I did say DRIVE!!!!

YEE-HAHHHHHHHHHH

 

Me with my rig!

 

 

 

Dave needed someone to go with him

to drive the truck while he loaded the hay

with the Manitou (forklift), as the haystacks

were very far apart and in different paddocks

and he couldn't do both things.

 

So he suggested to his boss that I go along

and she said "Yeah, let her drive the truck!"

 

Well, as some of you already know,

I love to drive anything with wheels (or tracks

or whatever) and will

give anything a go!

 

So, how about a triple road train?

Yeah, that means 3 trailers!

Always wanted to drive a truck!

 

It was a lot of fun.

I had to take it through a narrow gate

and also around a right angle corner that

looked like you'd never get 3 trailers around it.

(Dave actually had to clear some of the

scrub with the Manitou before

I could attempt it)

 

But with Dave's expert guidance walking ahead

of me, I made it without mishap.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Got to see this crazy whirly-whirly!

 

 

 

And at the end of our 12 hours carting hay,

I was nice and dusty and dirty!

 

 

I have uploaded a video for you, to prove my story.

This is me, driving through the paddock:)

 

 

 

 

 Here is another video of me driving the Manitou!

(Yes, I had to try that too. I loaded one bale of hay

just to give it a go)

 

 

 

Okay, no more truck stories for today.

Guess I'd better get back to wedding preparations.

 

 

PS. It's Maddy's 13th Birthday today,

so we now have 4 teenage girls in our house!

Yes, you can all feel sorry for Dave now!  

 

 



ABBI CREATES!!

 

 

Abbi just recently finished an 8 week

cake decorating course that taught

her the basics of cake decorating.

 

For the last class, they had to bring a plain

iced cake and decorate it!

 

Wa-Lah! Here was her effort!

 

 

 

Needless to say, we were all very impressed! 

We're sick with the flu!

 

 

 

 

 

And my tombstone when I die........

ha ha

A VERY LONG DAY AT THE OFFICE

I MEAN, IN THE TRUCK WITH DAVE!

 

 

Last Wednesday, I was able to go with Dave on his

regular overnight run. (Actually, 2 nights)

 

Dave did his usual Mataranka run first on Wednesday,

beginning at 7 am and got home

around 7:30pm, had a quick shower,

we stocked up on our meals etc and after fuelling up,

left Katherine at 9:30pm.

 

Heading down the Roper Highway,

we did the midnight mail run:)

Yeah, I know, weird, dropping off mailbags

in the middle of the night.

 

First stop-Moroak station 11:30pm

Second stop-Lonesome Dove station 12:30pm

Third stop-Big River station 12:40pm

Fourth stop-Mt McMillan station 1:05am

 

At 1:25am, we arrived at Roper Bar to 'camp' for the

rest of the 'morning' until 6am

(I guess 4 1/2 hours is better than nothing)

 

Then it's off to Urapunga, a very small aboriginal community

where the dogs were all out to greet us.

 

 

 

After unloading freight, including grocery items,

new push bikes, tricycles, clothing, TV's, stereos

and all sorts of interesting things, we headed to Ngukurr.

(There is a small store at Urapunga that sells just about anything

and does really good business in the area)

 

The drive to Ngukurr is 32km, but took us 1 hour!

Quite a lot of it doing 10km an hour because of

the road being badly corrugated!

 

 

It was really misty and foggy, which I had never seen out there before.

Quite eerie but pretty.

 

Check out this sign.

See the VB can?

 

 

Anyway, after unloading quite a bit of freight at Ngukurr, we headed

for Numbulwar, 156km away, on the coast.

 

 

 

Here's a couple of shots of the road and the trip.

Sorry, I always get carried away with my camera

on these trips as the country is so beautiful and so diverse.

 

Here's a mud puddle in the road, left over from the wet season.

Okay, so it's half a meter deep, but that's a puddle in a truck:)

 

 

The view looking back out my window.

I just love the colour of the water!

Bet I could stain some clothes in that!

 

I just love this sign!

 

"FLOODIN"

 

 

Once again, view from my window seat!

 

Anyway, back to our day ish.

After a 3 and a 1/2 hour drive to go 156 km,

we arrived in Numbulwar.

 

In a lot of places, the road was MIA,

missing in action! due to the wet season

and local disputes between the main roads and

local council as to whose responsibility it is to fix it,

the upshot being, it remains unfixed!

How like the government!

 

But, fortunately, so many people have driven around the

missing parts that there is now a detour of sorts.

Not always easy for a truck and trailer,

but of course, Dave can handle it!

 

 

One of the picturesque crossings along the way.

 

 

The first time Dave came out here, he had 2 trailers,

no one had informed him that you couldn't bring 2 trailers

because of this tight crossing, but there was no backing up

so he crossed safely, unlike others before him.

The Lord definitely watches over him!

 

Arriving in Numbulwar, we were greeted by views of the ocean.

Wow. It was really weird to see it, it just didn't feel like we were headed

for it and then, wa lah! there it was.

 

 

I stared out to sea for ages hoping to catch a glimpse of a big

salty, as the locals often see them, but alas, I didn't see one!

Note: this looks pretty, but don't get in, something is

bound to get you and it won't be pleasant!

 

Unless you're local that is,

they don't seem to have any qualms about dipping a toe in the water!

 

 

Well, after unloading, it's homeward bound.

Back through Ngukkur to pick up our 2nd trailer.

 

I finally got a glimpse of some buffalo.

Dave sees them all the time as well as donkeys

and all sorts of other wildlife.

 

 

This was some roadside graves for the aboriginal people

 

Well, because it was getting late and it had been a long 2 days

especially for Dave, we stopped the night again and headed for

Katherine (another 5 hours) in the morning after some sleep.

 

I still marvel at God's wonderful creation

and all that we so often take for granted!

 

WHAT A GREAT GOD WE SERVE!

 

 

 Hope you've enjoyed the pictures and haven't

been bored to tears. You wouldn't believe all

I leave out!  Thanks for taking the time

to enjoy the Territory with us!