Just Truckin’
Around
www.trt.co.nz
Hamish Lyttle
Faye Lougher spotted the Emmerson Transport truck pulling over in Shannon and stopped to chat with its driver, Hamish Lyttle. Hamish had come from Levin and was heading to Hastings. The 2018 Kenworth K200 had an 18-speed Roadranger and some pretty stylish curtains. The truck mainly carries out farming-related work, transporting meat and skins. He says he was a “suit and tie man” working for Inland Revenue in a former life. “I didn’t like it, so I taught myself, and I’ve been in the industry for 15 years now.” The past eight years have been spent as a driver, but Hamish started in dispatch and was a branch manager for Super Freight in Wellington before taking the wheel. He loves the freedom truck driving gives him. “And the view – this is my TV screen,” he says, pointing to the front window of the truck. A common refrain – not enough capable drivers – was the main problem Hamish thought the industry faced. “Not enough experienced drivers, and we need more female drivers too. “I’d like to see a lot more of them on the road.” Hamish had his 15-year-old daughter Bizhahn in the cab with him. “She’s been coming with me because she wants to be a driver too.”
Bizhahn says being a truck driver is her dream job, so hopefully, we’ll also stop her for Just Truckin’ Around one day in the not-too-distant future. It was only fair to ask them both a vexing question, so Bizhahn got soup or stew and opted for stew. Hamish got wine, whiskey or beer, and said he’d probably go for a nice glass of red wine.
Daryl McKay Everitt Enterprises of Dunedin specialises in scrap metal. Its flagship 2002 Isuzu CXH 450 Gigamax had a makeover last year, which included a new Jonsered 1400z crane and a repaint courtesy of Wilcock Truck Painters in Christchurch. After organising a photograph of the completed unit, Craig Andrews took the opportunity to talk to its operator – Daryl McKay.
54 New Zealand Trucking
Daryl collects scrap metal from various points throughout Otago, including Central and the Waitaki Valley, when he’s helping out at the Oamaru depot. His main role is farm pick-ups, with a regular run into OceanaGold Macraes, near Macraes Flat village. He also clears various landfills around the region. He began driving when he was 18 and working at Everitts.
“Back then, there were no forklifts or crane attachments – it was all very hard work.” His career in driving has not always been with Everitts. He has been back and forth a few times, although now he is there to stay. “It’s my retirement job,” he says, adding Everitts has looked after him, and the crew is great to work for. His driving history reveals time spent at Dunedin stalwart Stewarts Transport, piloting AECs around town and later doing a daily freight run down to Balclutha in an AEC 6-wheeler with a lazy axle. The lure of the big red continent saw him head to Australia, driving Atkinsons and Mercedes-Benz road trains out of Karratha before once again returning to Dunedin. The transport game is one that Daryl holds in high regard, and not much bothers him about it. The odd bit of double-handling plus the good old logbook brings on a frown. When he’s not collecting scrap metals, he goes from 450hp down to one – spending his spare time riding his own horse around the countryside.
May 2021
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