ANZ North and West Business Banking—14 March 2018

We finished off most of our summer track maintenance work with a fantastic group of professionals from ANZ’s North and West Auckland Business Banking organisation.

The group arrived just after eight and included Alex, Becky, Catherine, Dennis, Joe, Kim, Naveen, Patrick, Pulkit, Ray, Rick, Sam, Tony, Vincent, ZhenZhen.  Half the group had been out to CUE Haven last year and it was great to see old friends and meet new ones.

Also joining us for the day was our dear friend Alan who has been helping out regularly this summer.

We spent some time chatting over morning tea and then Mahrukh gave an update on new developments at CUE Haven and our current plans.

Thomas then gave an overview of the work planned for the day and a safety briefing.

Today’s project was to finish off the upgrade of a section of track that had seen some wear and tear and erosion.  The plan was to realign steps and install side retaining boards to prevent further erosion.  Once that was finished, a layer of gravel would be laid down on all the track sections we have been working on this summer to ensure that they are safe to walk in all weather.

Thomas and Alan took the ANZ team up to the track and we went to work.  We spread out along the track to tackle different sections.  The first phase of the work involved a lot of digging to correct any drainage and leveling issues and to make room for side retaining boards.

The next challenge was to figure out the length of the retaining boards and cut them to size.

Sawing the boards was a demanding job and the group shared the effort.

As the boards were cut to size, they were installed by nailing and pegging them into place.

In no time the group had finished off fixing the track sections and the improvement is amazing.

All summer long we have been doing track maintenance work and a lot of the track sections were exposed clay which can be very slippery and messy when wet.  To make the track safe for all weather use, we put down a layer of gravel to provide traction.  The team helped out with the challenging task of carrying the gravel down to the track in buckets.

We loaded up the buckets down near the entrance to the property.

Loaded the buckets on the ute and then drove up to the closest place near the new track sections and carried the buckets down.

At the end of the track, the buckets were dumped out and the gravel was raked smooth.

The end result is an amazing improvement and the improved tracks will be greatly appreciated by visitors exploring the growing native forest at CUE Haven.

We then picked up all the tools and equipment and headed back to the nursery and the team helped organize all the spare wood, clean up the gear and put it away.

It was then time for a relaxing late lunch and socialising.

A BIG thank you to our good friend Alan for taking the time to come out and work with the team.  Alan your skills and ability have greatly added to the quality of the tracks and we look forward to having you back to lead another team.

And a HUGE thank you too to the very hardworking ANZ team.  We very much enjoyed working with you.  We truly appreciate your hard work and everything you accomplished.  You have made a huge contribution to the CUE Haven walking tracks and your work will be enjoyed by visitors for years to come.

We hope you enjoyed the day as much as we did and we look forward to having you back with your family and friends for a more leisurely visit.

A very special thank you to Kirstie, ANZ Auckland -Business Development and Initiatives Manager, and Linda – Regional Assistant for North and West Auckland, for all their help with organizing and coordinating the ANZ teams coming to CUE Haven. Thanks to their efforts we have had five teams of ANZ professionals out this month to help us get the tracks ready for the upcoming Open Days. Yeah!

And finally, our thanks to ANZ for their wonderful support for the CUE Haven project.  ANZ professionals have been helping out for the past five years with various tasks contributing greatly to the development of CUE Haven.  We very much value our relationship and look forward to hosting more ANZ teams in the future.

THANK YOU!!