Fleet Partners—5 March 2015

Fleet Partners is an international vehicle leasing and fleet management company.  Last year a group of executives from their New Zealand corporate office in Auckland spent a day at CUE Haven assisting with some track work.

Today we had another team of executives from Fleet Partners out to assist with some improvements to the wetlands boardwalk.

The team today comprised Andrew, Carl, Daniel and Prem. Daniel had been out last year and it was good to see him again.

Some of the executives who were scheduled to come today had to unfortunately cancel at the last minute due to unforeseen work emergencies so it was a small team this morning and yet they managed to accomplish a lot of work in a few short hours.

After morning tea we had a quick orientation and safety briefing and then went to work.

When we built the boardwalk last year there were a few sections that we left open thinking that the ground was dry enough.  However the winter rains proved otherwise, and we have since decided that those areas, mostly steps, should be planked over to make the boardwalk easier to use year round.

The job for today was to box up and reinforce the steps and then lay planks over the top.

Andrew and Daniel went to work on one section of steps.  The first thing they needed to do was dig out the area where they would be installing the frames.

They then measured and cut the side frame and installed it.

They then did the same for the bottom step.

Once the frames were in place, they had the big challenge of figuring out how to cut the planks so that they would neatly fit around the curve.  It required a lot of planning and measuring and delicate cutting.

And the results are very professional looking steps that will last a long time and make for a comfortable walk.

In the meantime, Carl and Prem tackled another set of steps on the other side of the bridge.  The task was similar in that we were going to be boxing and planking over existing steps but there was an additional challenge because the area was longer and involved building a curved frame.  It also required a lot of digging in hard clay.

They weren’t using their regular office equipment but the guys looked like pros!

And once the first frame was in place Prem nailed down the top boards.

They then tackled the earthworks involved in cutting out a ditch for the frames for the long curved step.

They cut the frame and installed it, securing it with wooden pegs.

By the time we’d finished up it was time for a very late lunch.  Future teams will finish off the top planks of the steps.

After lunch we all went on an extended tour of the property.

We walked back through the gully walking track and everyone had a chance to see some of the changes that have been taking place at CUE Haven.

Along the way, Carl found a huhu grub and was tempted to give it a taste.

But he decided to wait for the Wild Foods Festival where the grubs would probably be fresher!

It was a fun day and the team left CUE Haven at almost 4 pm.

We want to thank Viv and Chris at Fleet Partners for helping to organise the day and arranging for the team to come out.  Unfortunately they could join us today but we’re looking forward to catching up soon.

And a very big thank you to Andrew, Carl, Daniel and Prem.  You were a great group to work with and we got a lot done and we had a good time with you all.  Thanks to your hard work it will be much easier and drier to traverse that section of the boardwalk during winter. We really appreciate your efforts and look forward to having you all back.

Thanks again!