Trucking Milestones: 1979 – travelling through the Australian Outback with the 2226
Series: Trucking milestones
The Stuart Highway in Australia is a real adventure. Impressions from 1979.
Around noon the temperature in the cab has risen to 42 degrees Celsius. The cab and the steering wheel are scorching hot. And everywhere there is the “bulldust” that is typical of central Australia – red dust that is finer than baby powder. When it gets wet, bulldust is like glue and slippery soap. Clive, who is driving the truck, was late this morning. His 2226 had to be washed before the journey. Now he’s already several hundred kilometres away on the Stuart Highway, heading north. The start was in Adelaide and the destination is now Alice Springs. Clive only makes slow progress because the visibility out here is too poor. Really, a break would be the right thing now; but unfortunately that’s not an option: Clive is carrying perishable goods.
A really tough job.
Truckers like Clive do the 1700 kilometres in almost 48 hours. In 1979 that was a really tough job: not much time, with little sleep, by rain and heat and through mud and sand. One continuous stretch of 950 kilometres is unsurfaced. Dust, sand, stones, potholes, and everywhere this bulldust. The trucks are put under extreme strain. During the few breaks he takes at the road houses, Clive is regularly asked about his 2226/6×4.
For anyone who does not know the road, the trip to Alice Springs is a journey through hell. For Clive it’s routine. Straight after arriving, he goes under the shower to wash the dust from his body. The water is red like tomato soup.
The next stop is Darwin, right up in the north. The drive there is another 12 to 15 hours (1500 kilometres). That’s all in a day’s work for the drivers in the Australian Outback.
Photos: Daimler AG
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Alte timpuri!
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Alte timpuri!
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