Forty hours on the road with an outback truckie - best toothbrush in the world

The call came three weeks ago and the offer was surprising.
"Come out in the truck and experience life on the road for a few days.
"The first time I saw the truck driver Heather Jones a few years ago, when I was the producer of the ABC highway project.
Since then, she joked about letting me go out in a truck.
Now the offer has arrived.
So I thought, "why not?
Before dawn, three long-way trains were buzzing in the transport.
For the next 40 hours, I will be sitting next to Jones's truck, traveling 1,800 kilometers from Calata, to kunurra, near the northern territorial border.
After about 4,000 kilometers, Jones will travel to Brisbane for a big truck show.
We set off soon.
Following Jones's pink Mike truck is a Volvo FH16 prime mover that will head to Port Hedland for service and own a western star Triple stretch 53.
5 m on the way to collect garbage from the mine.
The cottage is very large with sheepskin insidecovered seats.
A container for the pen sits on the right side of the steering wheel and then there is a changing window.
There is a bed, TV and fridge at the back of the seat which is very large.
The curtains can slide all the way, shut out the outside world, and give privacy when parking.
Well set up.
Everything was calm, but there was a beep in the cabin.
A truck center in Port Hedland is investigating beeps.
It takes six hours.
There is nothing to do but wait.
Boss and truck driver, 40-year-old driver Peter Harris offers free advice for this novice truck driver at a coffee shop in a nearby shopping center.
"Eat well, keep moisture and make sure you sleep," he said . " He added that he drank 4 liters of water a day.
They 've been around for a long time and he jumped in when he gave me the measurements.
16 hours.
But he won't do anything else.
"The scenery is different, it's different every day, it's the best job in the world.
"But this is not perfect.
"Your biggest challenge is the gray nomads," Mr Harris said . "
"Some of them are good, some are too helpful to harm everyone involved in this situation.
"He told me that when a caravan stopped in the middle of the road, it turned him into a T-junction.
He doesn't know three at all.
The tanker behind him.
"Behind them, what they don't know is three empty fuel barrels. "[The driver]
Two people heard-
The way to discuss it is to realize that they won't move, jump on the brakes and go down the spoon drain.
"In order to give you some space, I caught the opposite and the opposite of T.
The nomadic people disappeared in a large amount of dust.
All they have to do is follow the rules of the road and turn right.
A little six-
"One hour delay," said Jones, starting the engine.
The beep stopped.
This is a sensitive ABS sensor that is reading a fault that does not exist.
We won't go too far until we have to stop again. For fuel.
Drivers in most regions complain about fuel prices, but imagine paying about $3,000 each time they fill up.
Jones's 685-horsepower Mike has 2,000 liters of fuel.
"I didn't refuel right away because I couldn't get to the left hand tank. I got three-
Part of the tank, so yes, we will go to bloom.
"When we finally got to the highway, there were only a handful of cars, caravans and occasional large drilling platforms.
But road kills are more common.
Lost cars on the road.
High above you can clearly see people passing the car in the opposite direction, which is amazing.
Jones waved to everyone.
But not always back.
"You have to bring the waves back and it has disappeared in the last few years.
The truck driver waved and two fingers.
"It's very green.
We passed through the iniffex dotted with large termite hills.
It was a pleasure to look at the world in the past.
In some ways, truck drivers have all the time in the world to think, but there is also a time difference.
Jones occasionally answers the phone on her Bluetooth.
She told me that she had little Internet.
Most of her stay was spent processing emails.
"When you don't reply, they send you one and call you in an hour.
Suddenly a 1970
Architectural style appears.
It has a flat roof with dark red bricks and cream.
It is integrated with the red dust.
Inside, I met German backpacker Ramona musiciski from Selm near duseldorf, Germany.
She is 24 years old and has been traveling in Australia for 8 months.
This is her first road Villa and she is very happy to be here.
"I think it's a good thing to do for this experience, because in Germany, I usually just do ordinary office work and work for the government, which is the opposite of everything," You can't compare, "she said.
"I'm excited about it.
I'm here a week later so everything is new so ask me again in two months and I'll say something else. "She said with a smile.
Jones preferred driving during the day, but the delay set us back.
The cow hovered on the edge of the highway.
You can't see their brown body unless they are right in front of you.
As we approached, they would occasionally rush through the highway.
"It's a good thing to leave the road when the sun goes down, but sometimes the work you get you can't do that and you have to move on," she said . ".
Just in case, we reduced the speed by 10 kilometers to about 80 kilometers.
"There are cattle, kangaroos, camels.
I saw the little guy here too.
So there are a lot of big animals here.
"About 300 away from the highway, smoke came out of a small burning fire.
"The warning is that there is smoke, but it is not just smoke, we still have fire in the East," Jones said . ".
"I think if the wind changes, it will cross the road.
"After 9: 00 in the afternoon, we arrived at the lighthouse in the desert, the Roebuck plain Road house.
"The kitchen is closed," the staff said . ".
"Close at 9: 00 in the afternoon.
Jones accepted it calmly.
She bought a key for $10 to use the shower and toilet facilities, especially those reserved for truck drivers.
They were clean but I forgot to bring towels as a newbie.
And my toothbrush.
My bed at night is a bunch of things.
The second trailer of the truck has a space under the propeller of the ship behind it.
We have a cow car and four on the left-
The trailer road train is on the right.
The generator buzzed all night.
I am like a lamp.
Last night was a blur. it was time to act at 5: 15 a. m.
The birds echo in the cool air of the morning.
The Roadhouse kitchen is now open for a hot breakfast.
A cup of tea is recovering.
I feel dirty and tired as if I should be better prepared.
Nearby is Alastair Miers, a truck driver who is ready to drive to Perth.
He said Roebuck's good facilities were not replicated anywhere.
Bureaucratic demands in the industry could also be a problem, he said.
"Regulation will always bury us," he said . "
"What you're facing is government bureaucracy, they don't really understand the transportation industry, they never understand.
"They 've been telling us everything about fatigue management, but everyone is different about how long you can drive.
It's still early, but Jones is already working hard to get the strap back on the cargo safe.
There was grease on her cheek.
When I was chatting with Alastair, Jones refuel the truck.
Then she filled out the log before we hit the road.
This is required by law.
"Every morning, every night, you fill it out to keep track of your kilometers and hours of work," she said . ".
"Every time you take a break, you fill out these lines here.
How long do you stop and where to stop before you start again.
"A 20-minute break every 5 hours is a requirement under Western Australian law, but this has changed at the border.
The tall root tree is dotted with scenery.
The red earth turned gray.
Even the national anthem is changing shape.
A short stay in Willare has attracted attention. A 12-year-
When her parents took pictures, the old girl jumped into the big pink motivation to have a look.
"My uncle was driving a Mike truck, but he was in Port Hedland," the little girl said safely, sitting in the driver's seat.
This is a proof of her hard work for Jones.
She often goes to school to show young girls that truck driving is an option.
"There is a shortage of truck drivers across Australia, and in the past, women didn't have a chance to get into the trucking industry, because unless you have a father, uncle or someone you know, you can't actually get into the industry.
"We are very fortunate to have the support of the Australian Volvo Group, who specifically provided us with several key promoters to help women and young men enter the industry, give our company practical work experience in Karratha so they can be employed after 160 hours or a month.
"Over the past three years, she has trained the job for more than 60 women.
If there is still a male culture, I don't see much evidence for the two days on the road.
"As you experienced at the last few truck stops we stopped, those awesome people wanted to come over and chat with us," Jones said . ".
"They treat us no differently than their mother or sister.
They want to chat and see how you are doing.
"We are 800 kilometers away from kunurra.
From here on, this road has become a mound.
Facilities are more sparse.
A sign warns that there is no roadside trash can within 180 kilometers.
"You have to stick to it now, and the road is very shocking," Jones warned . ".
Of course, it was a bit uncomfortable to sit down, but Jones explained that bad road conditions and lack of facilities were a dangerous combination.
"There are many factors that lead to fatigue. . .
If we can put some money into better roads and facilities, especially the rest area, that's what I 've been doing.
"There is no facility, you have a truck driver who needs to sleep on a one metre long roadside --and-a-
Half way from the road, there are vehicles passing every few minutes, you can't sleep well.
"So when you wake up, you get tired, you drive on the road that's hard to negotiate, and you eat at restaurants that have pies, sausage rolls and chips.
"The whole culture" needs radical reform, Jones said.
"It's really a great job and it has a lot of great attributes so all we need to do is be good-
Adjust those things that we 've all experienced, and every truck driver on the highway is chattering.
"We do need the government to listen and make changes.
"It's not far away now, it's only about 100 from my final destination, Kununurra.
Jones will drive a little further before she calls it a night.
We called a service station.
Jones wants a cup of hot tea.
I reminded her that maybe it didn't help, just missed the kitchen last night and we agreed to act as soon as possible.
The waiter told us ironically that the kitchen was closed.
"You don't have a kettle, do you?
Jones chose iced coffee instead.
The waiter provided her with keys to the shower and bathroom facilities.
But he added that he had to turn off the lights outside.
Sitting in the dark, my words become blurred by exhaustion.
I have a new respect for our trucking industry.
It's a tough slog, but the big difference is small details. A cup of tea. Clean showers. Roadside bins.
Theme: area, road-
Mining Transportation
Tourism industryhealth-and-
The safety of Karas Towerindustrial-estate-
6714, port-hedland-
6721, broome-
Kunurra-6725
6743, fitzroy-crossing-