Pie Funds is a boutique investment firm offering a range of actively managed investment funds, KiwiSaver and wealth management services with a strong focus on delivering above-average investment returns and providing investors with outstanding client service.

Today we were happy to once again have a team of executives from Pie Funds to help out with some walking track improvements.

The team arrived first thing in the morning and included Ana-Marie, Annabel, Devon, James, Mandy F., Mandy Z., Mark, Sam, Shannon, Simon, Tanja and Victoria.

Many in the team were new to CUE Haven so we spent some time getting acquainted over morning tea and Mahrukh gave a description of the history of the CUE Haven restoration project and plans for the future.

Thomas then gave a safety briefing and overview of the plan for the day.

The plan for the day was to do as much as possible to restore the Taraire and Riroriro tracks after the bridge connecting them fell down.

During the storms last year, the CUE Haven stream overflowed in areas, and we saw considerable erosion near the bridge that joins the Taraire track to the Riroriro track.  To prevent damage to the track, we installed timber retainer planks to support the track and prevent further erosion.  After another storm this past August, the stream once again overflowed and further eroded the bank.  Although our wood retainer planks held up, a very big Ti Kouka tree next to the bridge was undermined and fell across the stream.  The deep roots of the tree pulled away and undermined the bridge supports, causing it to collapse.

The bridge collapse has made the Taraire track unusable and created some challenges along the Riroriro track which will need to be rerouted to keep it away from the washout area. A previous volunteer team had made a start on the work and the task today was to continue on this section.

The previous volunteer team had also mapped out a plan for rerouting the Taraire track and determined that the best solution would be to extend the Taraire track parallel to the stream and establish a new crossing further upstream where there is less risk of future flooding.  Instead of turning right onto the bridge, the track would now continue on until it reached the new crossing point, and that team had cleared the trail to the new crossing point.

The plan for today was to break into three smaller teams.  One team would work on reconstructing the Riroriro track near the washout, the other team would work on finishing off the Taraire track extension, and the others would devise a means for the new stream crossing.

The first task was bringing down the gear.

Once on site, Thomas showed the group the area and they broke into their teams.

Riroriro Track Repair

Before the washout, the Riroriro track ran along the stream and opposite the bridge was a terraced platform for benches.  The solution we were working on was to route the track away from the washout area by removing the terrace and making it part of a new track section.  The job involved a lot of digging to level the area and also required the group to install some new steps.

The team discussed ideas to determine the best approach.

The first task involved lowering the level of the top terrace step. 

Once that was complete, the team worked on constructing new steps from the existing track section up to the new levelled terrace area.

The way the track turns required an angled step and we went down to the nursery to use the skilsaw to get accurate miter cuts.

The new step was installed and levelled.

And a retaining wall along the new track section was constructed.

They measured the new timber, cut it to size and secured it in place with long pegs.

Thanks to the team’s creativity and hard work, the Riroriro track is now rerouted and is safe and usable.  Future teams will put up safety railings along the slip area by the stream and finish things off.

Bridge

When the bridge came down, we initially weren’t sure what the best solution would be to fix the tracks.  Our main concern was that future weather events might cause continuing issues with the existing crossing area.  For that reason, it was decided to move the crossing upstream where the stream is narrower.  Previous teams had found a good spot and cleared the area and we requested the team today to devise a new bridge, thinking that we would eventually dismantle the old one when things dry out more this summer.

The team working on the new crossing, however, decided that the old bridge would make an excellent new bridge if it could be relocated. They had a good look at the situation.

They determined that the bridge was still in good shape and to try to move it.  The first step involved safely removing and moving the railings.

The bridge was then carefully detached from the supporting posts and then came the tricky part—lifting it out and carrying it to the new location.

The team then worked on preparing the new site. They measured the bridge and dug out a foundation for it at the new crossing point.

And then the bridge was installed and anchored in the new location.

They reinstalled the handrails.

And leveled the approaches to the bridge on each side.

With their creativity and hard work, the team solved a problem we thought we would be dealing with for several months and the new location will be more secure and resilient in case of future flooding.

Taraire Track Extension

The third team tackled finishing off the new section of track connecting the old and new bridge locations.

The job involved finishing off the track by digging out channels for side boards and then installing the boards.

Once the track was prepared, they brought down the timber boards.

The boards were laid in place and secured with pegs and nails.  The bridge team helped out once they had the bridge in place. 

The boards were measured and cut to size where necessary.

The team managed to line the entire new track section.

Future teams will finish off the track by putting down a layer of gravel.

In a few hours the team accomplished an amazing amount of work and far exceeded our expectations.   We have been concerned about having the Tararie and Riroriro tracks ready for summer visitors and thanks to the Pie Funds team, we are almost there.

Have a look at everything they accomplished:

A big thank you to Simon for continuing to champion CUE Haven at Pie and for organising the very productive volunteer day.

And thank you to Tanja for helping out with the photos!

And a huge THANK YOU to everyone for all your enthusiasm, help and hard work.  We so appreciate all of your good ideas and efforts.  The work you accomplished today far exceeded expectations and you have all made a very valuable contribution to CUE Haven.

We hope you enjoyed the day as much as we did. It was great seeing old friends and meeting new ones and working with you all. And we especially enjoyed the many interesting conversations.

We very much look forward to having you all back for another volunteer day and also out for leisurely visits with your family and friends to check out the new tracks you have made such a good start establishing and also to explore more of your community nature reserve.

Thank You!! Thank You!!