Spark is New Zealand’s leading digital services provider and one of New Zealand’s largest companies.   Since 2012, Spark employees have been coming to CUE Haven for their staff volunteer days and have made major contributions to our walking track network.  Over the years, the team has grown to include Spark alumni, family and friends and it’s always great to see old friends and meet new people.

The group arrived first thing in the morning and included Amy, Carol-Ann, Dawson, Kyle, Martin, Neil, Netra, Paul, Rochelle, Shveta, Stephane and Wendell.

Because almost everyone had been volunteering at CUE Haven several times before, after a short morning tea we went straight to work.  Thomas started off with a safety briefing and description of the tasks planned 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.  One of the many rewarding aspects of the CUE Haven project is seeing the community working together to create a special place and the work on the track restoration has been a good example of that.  Since the bridge came down, four different volunteer teams have been involved, offering ideas and doing hard work on the repair.  The plan for today was to build on from the work those teams have done to get the tracks ready for summer visitors.

Previous teams have relocated the bridge, rerouted the Taraire track and worked on rerouting the Riroriro track around the damaged section.  We broke into three teams to tackle finishing off those projects.

One team worked on levelling the new Taraire track section, another worked on joining up the Riroriro track to the relocated bridge and the third installed railings along the slip area on the Riroriro track, but over the course of the day, people moved among teams to help out and even the work load.

Thomas had previously dropped the gear at one end of the Taraire track and once on site, he explained the need for the specific equipment and gave some additional safety information.

The first task was carrying all the gear down to the work site.

New Taraire track section

Previous teams had mapped out a new route for the track to the new bridge site and had begun to install side boards and level the track.  We requested the team today to finish off the job by joining up the old and new sections of track and digging in the side boards.

They took some time to study the area to determine the issues and the best approach to finishing off the track.

They went to work, digging channels for the boards and installing them.

The biggest challenge was connecting up the old track boards to the new section to ensure that everything was level and seamless.

Where necessary, the boards were cut to size.

Next to the bridge, there had been a sign which encouraged people to take a rest on the benches and listen to the sounds of nature.

When the bridge came down, the ground by the sign pulled away as well, and we requested the team to re-install it in a more secure location on the other side of the stream.

The first task was carrying to its new location.

The team then prepared the spot where they wanted to install the sign.

They took turns using a post hole borer to dig the deep hole.

When the hole was deep enough, they test fitted the sign and asked the team on the other side of the stream to help them get it just right.

Once everything was lined up the hole was filled in and the soil rammed into place to keep the sign secure.

Because we don’t want visitors on the Taraire track to only see the back of a sign with no message, the team installed another sign on the back that one of our volunteers made.

Thanks to the team’s hard work, the new Taraire track section is almost complete. Future teams will finish metaling the track.

Bridge Connection

One of the challenges in relocating the bridge was finding a level crossing point so that there would not be steep approaches at either end.   The new location has a slight slope up to the Riroriro track and one team worked on creating a smooth and level approach.

After studying the area, they decided that the best solution would be to install a small step up from the bridge onto the track and also to put in an angled step to level the slope down from the longer steps on the track.

They started by realigning the boards on the high side of the track.

And installed the step riser on the bridge side.

They then did a lot of digging to even everything out.

They installed the board for the angled step.

They also fixed some side boards on the track which had moved out of alignment.

In just a few hours, the team transformed the approach to the bridge and the Riroriro track section.

Riroriro Track Repair

Before the washout, the Riroriro track ran along the stream and opposite the bridge was a terraced platform for benches where visitors could relax and enjoy the sounds of the stream and birds.  Previous teams have been working on a solution to route the track away from the washout area by removing the terrace and making it part of a new track section and teams have done a lot of digging to level the area and install new steps. 

The task today was to install railings along the new track section to keep visitors well away from the damaged area.  The first step was to study the area and come up with the best approach.

The challenge the team faced was where to best locate the railing posts and ensure that the railing would be secure.  Although the risk of further washouts in the area is minimal, the team was concerned about the stability of the area and wanted to position the railings as far from the stream as possible. 

That meant that some of the existing steps and retaining for the terrace would need to be pulled back further from the stream.  The team went to work digging out the sections and re-installing them.

Removing the old boards enabled the team to reconfigure the area for the post installation.

The new walls were installed and a line set out to mark where the railings would go.

The boards were cut to size as needed.

The new walls were nailed into place.

Once the new layout was complete, the required dimensions of the railings could be determined.  We went down to the shed to cut the wood for the posts and rails.

The prepared timber was carried down to the site.

The team dug the holes for the railing posts.

The posts were placed in the holes.

Supporting planks were installed to further strengthen the railings.

The posts were secured in place.

Alignment of all the posts was checked with a spirit level.

Once the posts were level and secure, the railings were installed.

The team took care to miter the corner angles.

It was a challenge cutting off the tops of the posts to even everything out.

The last step was to re-install the steps.

They also had a look at the stream and cleared it of debris to protect the banks in case of heavy rain in the future.

Track Metalling

After several hours of hard work, everyone was tired but the group wanted to finish off their track sections by putting down a layer of gravel.  We loaded up buckets and carried them down to the track.

The gravel was dumped on the track sections and raked smooth.

All the teams accomplished an amazing amount of really challenging work and as usual we had a very productive day and ended the day with a very late lunch after 2.30pm!!

It was great to see everyone working together to develop creative solutions to today’s challenges–everyone had great ideas and showed a lot of dedication to the work and the results are amazing.  Have a look at what they accomplished.

A big thank you to Paul for organizing the visit today and for continuing to champion CUE Haven at Spark and with his friends and former colleagues. It was great seeing old friends again and meeting the new volunteers joining the Spark team.  We really enjoyed working with you all.

Our heartfelt thanks to everyone for their effort and hard work.  You all accomplished a LOT today! Your contribution and ongoing support is most valued.

We hope to see all of you back at CUE Haven both for another fun and productive volunteer day and also for a relaxing visit with your friends and families to show them your wonderful handiwork as you explore more of CUE Haven.

Thank You!! Thank You!!