We’ve got the third and final instalment of Demi’s big road trip with her granddad, Ken, who likes to take the kids out in his truck in Australia. We left off in part two (LTDU Autumn 2024) with Demi and her granddad parked up for the night after a long day on the road. Demi’s just woken up as Granddad is starting up the truck to get going.

Still in my bunk, Granddad says I can stay where I am if I’m still tired.

“Ok Granddad, I might do that,” I say.

The next thing I remember was Granddad talking on the radio to a mate of his as we went south through Mt Magnet.

“Oh, you’re awake, are you?” he asks as I sit up and pull my jumper on.

“Yes, I’m awake but can we stop soon. I need the toilet and to clean my teeth.”

“Yes sweetheart, we can stop at Kirkalocka Station in about 25 minutes, and you can do both there. Can you hang on that long?”

We get to Kirkalocka Station, and I do what I have to while Granddad gets us both some breakfast out of the fridge – fresh fruit and muesli.

After breakfast, we had been going for about half an hour when we came up behind two eight-metre-wide loads going south, but there were two eight-metre-wide loads coming north and we were going to all meet quite soon. Granddad backed off and called the rear pilot.

“Southbound eight-metre pilots. MTA here with two at two-point-seven and light. I’ll just sit back here until we have got around those northbounds if you like,” he says.

“That would be great MTA, if you don’t mind.”

“Not a problem, mate,” Granddad says.

The art sculptures were really creative.

We had only gone about another kilometre down the road when the eight-metre loads and pilots in front of us stopped and the radio was going flat out with the wardens and pilots from both north and southbound big loads working out how to get around each other safely.

It ended up that the northbound eight-metre-wide loads pulled into a parking bay, the southbound eight- metre loads stayed parked on the road getting as far to the left as possible so that the traffic behind the northbound could come through, and then we got called around. As we pulled away, we could hear both lots of pilots getting their loads moving again.

“Well, that was a bit of fun that most people don’t get to see,” Granddad says.

“I never realised how much organising those big loads take when you have talked about them before. I’m going to do an essay on them for my monthly project at school,” I say.

“That’s good Demi. So, you think the trip was worthwhile then?”

“It’s always worthwhile coming with you Granddad and you know it!”

“That’s good then dear. I would hate to be wasting my time,” Granddad says with a big grin all over his face.

An hour later we pull into the roadhouse at Paynes Find so Granddad can have his five-hour break. He said he was hoping to get to Perth with only one break but that won’t happen now. We will have to have another break at the Chittering Roadhouse, which is almost an hour north of Perth, but we will still be in the yard and parked up by five o’clock this afternoon and home for tea.

As we were coming into Perth, Granddad was on the phone to his boss, and when they were done, Granddad said that things just got easier. He did not have to take the trailers to the yard – just drop them at the Kewdale hook-up area and go home.

That was my road trip and I loved it. Thank you so much Granddad for such a wonderful trip together. – Demi