Today our good friends from the Westpac corporate human resources group were back once again to help with some track maintenance.  The team arrived first thing in the morning and included Anthea, Inge and Max.  Also joining us were student volunteers Cady and Cris.

Almost everyone has been to CUE Haven several times so after getting caught up over morning tea, we went right to work.  Thomas gave a safety briefing and a description of the work planned for the day.

Because it was a small team and we could move around easily, we tackled a variety of small and big jobs.  We started out by returning a bench from the workshop back to the field.  The old bench had been showing a lot of wear and tear and we’d brought it down to the workshop and replaced some of the rotting timbers.  The team loaded the bench into the ute.

 And we drove up to Wahi Kotahitanga where we installed the bench looking out to views of the CUE Haven reserve and Kaipara Harbour

We then drove up to the top of the property where we took care of a few other tasks.

One of the signs we had installed looking out to Mt. Taranaki had been damaged in a wind storm.  We repaired and re-installed it.

And straightened up some of the other signs that had moved out of alignment.

Thomas and Max went on an inspection of the boundary fence and managed to fix a fault in the electric fence.

The main tasks for the day involved continue to fix up the area of the Taraire track where the bridge had fallen down earlier this year.  We drove down to the track and went to work.

The washout that damaged the bridge also took out a section of the Rewarewa track which required us to reroute the track.  Previous teams had built railings to direct traffic along the new track, but we decided to put some sculptured mushrooms in the buffer zone between the railings and the stream to indicate that it was not an area to walk.  The team carried the heavy concrete mushrooms down to the site.

And used their creative skills to set them up and create a mushroom garden.

We then brought down the gear for the track work.

We had installed some benches overlooking the stream by the bridge and when we reconfigured the track, the bases of the benches no longer fit.  The team cut pieces off the bases and re-installed the benches.

The next challenge was to fix the steps connecting the old and new sections of track.  The steep bank on one side of the steps meant that there was a risk of erosion, so the team dug out a channel and installed side boards as a retaining wall.

Once they determined the correct alignment of the steps and dug out the side channel, they could install the boards.

The boards were secured with pegs and nailed in place.

They shaped the bank to minimize the possibility of future erosion.

As a last step, they put down a layer of gravel.

And the steps are looking great!

On the other side of the stream where the other end of the bridge used to stand, there is now an open area.  In order to keep people on the track, we decided to install a railing which would run alongside the stream. 

We planned the job and determined the types and sizes of timber we would need and went down to the shed to cut the needed boards and took them back up to the site.

The next big challenge was digging the holes for the supporting posts.

The posts were pounded and rammed in place and then nailed to the track side boards for additional strength.

Once the posts were in place, the side boards were nailed in.

The team took turns, measuring, checking and nailing.

The last step was to saw off the tops of the posts to level everything out.

The fence is an amazing achievement and the team should be very proud of their efforts.  When everything was finished we gathered up the gear and headed back for a late lunch.

Thanks to the creativity and hard work of this team, the bridge washout work is now complete in time for summer visitors. 

The small team accomplished an amazing amount of work.  It was a very productive day and we really enjoyed working with everyone and also enjoyed many interesting conversations. Thanks everyone!!

Inge – a big thank you for organising the day and handling the logistics and for continuing to support CUE Haven in other ways too. We really appreciate it!

And a huge THANK YOU to the entire team and special thanks to Cady and Chris for their enthusiasm and for working so hard. We hope you all enjoyed the day as much as we did. You accomplished a lot and we really appreciate your efforts and contribution to CUE Haven.  We very much looking forward to having you all back for another fun and productive volunteer day and also for leisurely visits with your family and friends.

Thank You!! Thank You!!