Cozzy got the Dog of War brand new while at Road Metals. Photo: Craig McCauley.

In the 42 years since Robin Judkins and 11 mates pioneered the route used today, the Coast to Coast race has well and truly taken its place in the Kiwiana Hall of Fame. It sits alongside ‘Cheeky Charlie’ the Four Square man, Red Band gummies, and the mighty Trekka as something uniquely us. It also put the sleepy West Coast village of Kumara and its associated beach on the map as the great event’s starting point.

Road transport’s interpretation of the renowned trans-alpine endurance event is a round-the-clock occurrence, the origins of which precede the multi-sport version by some 116 years. Every day, equally hardy and resilient souls swing their machines inland at Kumara Junction, and take on one of the globe’s most scenic and challenging trucking corridors – SH73 Arthur’s Pass.

Both road and rail use the Taramakau River valley to access Arthur’s Pass, providing the economic link between the South Island’s central west and east.

As it happens, Kumara is also where 40-year-old Sean Costelloe grew up and went to school. His own rite of passage is entrenched in this highway and the fact he is engaged in ensuring its viability for others must surely be worthy of an insightful metaphor on so many levels. I just wish I could think of one.

“Dad’s driven at Aratuna [Freighters] for 40 years,” says Sean. “He’s been off crook and is just back on deck today. We just passed them actually. I say ‘them’, because having been off for a while, he’s re-inducting on the fuel tanker, so has a trainer with him. I’m not sure how much longer he’ll keep at it, he’s passed the Gold Card now.”

Like so many of his ilk, Sean wasn’t overly enamoured with the educational system. He found work outside of school hours via his dad Dermot’s firm, Aratuna Freighters.

“I worked on the wharf in Greymouth helping unload the fishing boats, reloading the product into trucks bound for Dunedin.”

Thinking the work and earning lark to be pretty good, he ditched school at 15 and started at Aratuna fulltime. “Durham [Havill, Aratuna Freighters] helped get my trailer licence fast-tracked.” That led to a seven-year stint with the firm, working his way up, learning the ropes in the traditional way.

“Did you ever do the fish to Dunedin as a driver, and close the loop on that?” I ask.

“Yes. Not often, but when I drove the FL10 [Volvo], I did take the fish down on a few occasions.”

By his early-to-mid-20s, Sean was looking for a change, and so he and wife Kimberley headed north to the sunny climes of Nelson and the Tasman region.

“I’d been going hard for the first seven years of my working life, full weeks and more. I wanted to kick back a little and maybe get a local job, fork- hoist driving … something cruisy for a bit. I applied at TNL, Sollys and Tullochs. The bloke from TNL rang and said, ‘You’ve got a class 5 and been driving at Aratuna?’ ‘Yep, that’s right.’ ‘Why the hell do you want to drive a fork-hoist?’ ‘I don’t know … just something a little less full-on,’ I said. ‘No, no, we’ve got a truck for you, start Monday.’ So, that was that.

“I covered some holidays for the first few months and then was given a Foden truck and trailer on floating work around the South Island.”

A move to Christchurch so Kimberly could pursue accounting studies at university merely relocated the domicile for the floating linehauler. “When I lived in Nelson I spent all my time in Christchurch, and when I lived in Christchurch, I spent all my time in Nelson,” Sean says, laughing. “I did four years there, it was a good work but there was just a bit of inter-depot protection at times so getting stranded could be a thing.

“Frank Croft [T Croft Transport at Stillwater near Greymouth] rang me one day and said they were looking for an east-west freight driver, and being based in Christchurch was no issue. It meant I would be home most nights. A meeting was held on a Saturday morning, and there I was, time to move.”

Sean’s new gig involved loading one day, delivering and reloading the next … press repeat.

“Being based in Christchurch was ideal, because they were the big days. I had an International 9800i curtain and you loaded straight to the deck. Although some days, there would be 30-odd pick-ups, you knew you had right until knock-off to get it done. You didn’t have to try and get back to the coast. I loved it; it was a great job.”

In time, Sean was promoted onto one of the flat-deck log trucks, another 9800i carting hay from Canterbury to the coast, and logs back.

“That was good work, but full-on. It takes its toll eventually. I remember one morning, I’d loaded hay in a wet paddock, we’d been towed in and would be towed out. The hay had been sitting for a long time, it was saturated, but it was a compulsory cover job, so that was just how it was. I slipped and fell off the back of the truck into the mud and goop, and I remember lying there, my hands bleeding as they did all winter when you’re covering. The day in front of me ran through my head – get this finished, take it over the hill, unload and roll up the covers, reload logs, and come back. ‘Maybe four years is enough’, I thought.

“My mate Kayne Scott had just started at Road Metals and said there was a job going on a 500 Series Hino around town, and I should pop in and see Chris Hancox who ran operations at the time. ‘Sounds like me,’ I thought. I’d missed the take-it-easier moment in Tasman, so to be honest, the Hino sounded great. However, driver Bill Sargent had been off ill, and soon after returning hung up the keys, so I found myself on the Mack Trident All Torque, eventually getting Dog of War new.”

Road Metals was a great place to work, and I did another four years there. Four, four and four – pure coincidence really.”

Kimberley had a career opportunity back on the coast in Greymouth; it was the catalyst to ending Sean’s time at Road Metals.

It’s been five years since the move back home, and five years since Sean started at MBD Contracting. “I guess that tells you a lot. It’s a fantastic place to work, like going to work with a bunch of mates. The atmosphere radiates down from the top; Darren and Ben [Richardson and Haddock – MBD Contracting] set the tone for sure.

“Kimberley is working at an accounting practice in Greymouth and hopefully she’ll be able to take further opportunities there in time. We’ve got Hudson who’s three, and Sienna, two, so we’re full-on at home as you can imagine.

“The company are really great in that regard also, and if there are family needs that get in the way a bit, taking time to sort that out in a busy two-parent career household is not an issue. It’s not at all hard to see why the people stay here.

“Hudson already loves the trucks and diggers; he’s right into steam rollers at the moment.

“I guess we’re on the way again.”