I Sail on a Concrete Sea

We have a rich truckin' tradition here in the states, but I think Australia wins with their massive Road Trains. They go places with their 3 and 4 trailer trucks you'd never see attempted here in the states. We've seen them on horribly corrugated dirt roads and tiny single lane highways that had potholes big enough to swallow our rental car. These guys mean business, which is evident from the gigantic "roo bars" (also known as bull bars, or nudge bars) on the grill to shove any hapless animals out of the way.




This is part of the Ross Highway... one of those single laners I mentioned. Note that there is no center stripe...the asphalt here is really only one car-width, so you drive right down the center of the road until oncoming traffic appears (slightly spooky when the road is curvy or hilly). At that point you play chicken until, at the last moment (and at speed!), you both pull over with one set of wheels on the dirt shoulder, and one set of wheels on the asphalt, zipping by each other in a hail of dust and flying gravel. Road Trains, on the other hand, don't move for anyone, and intimidate other vehicles into fleeing all the way onto the gravel.



One of the many massive 4 trailer trucks we saw along the way.



This one's only got 3 trailers, but it illustrates the difficulties in passing a vehicle like this with a terribly underpowered rental car. Even with light traffic and straight stretches of road, it takes a long time just to pass a truck this big, let alone find a window of opportunity, especially since they tend to drive toward the center, and weave a lot.