On a Sunday road trip from Tauranga to Whanganui, Alison and Mike Verran popped in to visit Craig Watson at his home in Tokoroa. He lives in a great spot where he can keep an eye on trucks heading past on SH1.

Craig drives for K&S Freighters. In his Kenworth K200 Aerodyne chip liner, with a Cummins E5 under the cab, he mainly travels around the Waikato and Bay of Plenty, carting sawdust and wood chip.

Truck driving is a Watson family passion. “I’ve been driving for about 30 years now. My dad and uncles were truck drivers. I have two brothers driving, as well as my niece. My dad, brothers and I all worked together at Rudd Transport in Auckland. Scott Transport bought out Rudds. We all worked there for about four or five years. Our sister worked there too, in the office.” After his break at home, Craig was preparing for a 2:30am start to head to Kawerau to load sawdust for Taupo. Craig’s enjoyment of truck driving includes meeting people, the freedom and the scenery.

One of his gripes in the industry is the attitude of some of the young drivers. “You try to show them how to do things, to help them out, but they think they already know it.”

Asked the vexing question: beef, pork, lamb or chicken? Craig answered: “Beef, I’m a beef man through and through.”