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Heavy lifting
An Air Force Iroquois prepares to lift Te Araroa boardwalk from the slopes of Mt Pirongia (see map, below)
Credit: Mark Taylor/Waikato Times.
An RNZAF No 3 Squadron Iroquois yesterday airlifted the first sections of a new Te Araroa boardwalk onto the summit ridges of Pirongia mountain.
The Pirongia boardwalk - one of the longest in New Zealand - is part of Te Araroa's route from Hamilton to Waitomo. During the next month, teams will begin the job of installing the 800 metres of steps and decking on site.
The boardwalk is built in prefabricated sections that have been trucked to a farm halfway up the slopes of the 1000-metre-high mountain. From there, the work has been split into two parts. Heavy lifting and installation.
Local pilot Alister Boyd flew the Te Araroa installation team of mainly Ngaruawahia High School students to Pahautea Hut near the Pirongia summit on Monday. He then made another 15 trips with 300 kg loads of foundation timber and bolts.
Te Araroa's team prepares to fly to the summit: Back row left to right - Melany Fitzsimmons, Charmaine Hopa and Nicole Fitzsimmons, who all built prefabs sections at Ngaruawahia High School last year.
Front row left to right Noel Sandford, Te Araroa Construction Manager, Jason Pitts (Ngaruawahia High) Matt Borgas from Te Kuiti, and Casey Slight (Ngaruawahia High). An eighth team member, Kerry Bond, is not shown.
Two days later (yesterday) the Air Force arrived . . . to sort 900 kg loads and deploy its own loadmasters to guide the lifting of each load from the farm site and dropping it near the Pirongia summit.
The construction timetable calls for the the Air Force to lower the heavy prefabs on or near the foundations put in position by the installation teams.
Casey Slight awaits the arrival of another 300 kg load of tanalised
timber, flown in Monday by a Heliworx Robinson 44.
The prefabricated sections were built by eight Waikato schools last year. The 120 separate sections - complete with handrails as demanded by the building code - were trucked to the farm last month.
Te Araroa's construction manager Noel Sandford said the year 12 carpentry students who'd constructed the 120 units within their classrooms last year helped Te Araroa Waikato Trust cut its costs. "They've done an awesome job - I'm rapt with what they did, and I've found no serious mistakes or omissions from the design specs they were given."
Students from Hamilton Boys High School, Cambridge High, the Church College of New Zealand, Hillcrest High, Huntly College, Ngaruawahia High, St Paul's Collegiate and Te Awamutu College built the units, and some students will be back on the mountain over the next month, helping put them in place.
Te Araroa relies mainly rely on volunteer work, and donations. According to Margaret Evans, chair of Te Araroa Waikato Trust, the boardwalk has already cost close to $100,000 and another $100,000 of costs is expected.
"We originally asked Waikato DoC to include Pirongia's western route into Te Araroa, and DoC agreed, provided we upgraded the existing muddy route with a boardwalk from Pahautea Hut to the Hihikiwi summit," she said. "That turned into a very large project - so far Trust Waikato, Sky City Hamilton, WEL Energy, the Perry Foundation, Gallaghers Group, the Mayors Taskforce for Jobs, and DoC itself have all put money into it."
Margaret Evans said she was very pleased the Air Force had also agreed to support the programme. The Air Force team included the pilot, a Morrinsville man Flight Lieutenant Paul Aitken, Flying Officer Hayden Madsen, Sergeant Ben Fraser and Sergeant Anysley Leigh.
Heavy lifting
22nd February 07An Air Force Iroquois prepares to lift Te Araroa boardwalk from the slopes of Mt Pirongia (see map, below)
Credit: Mark Taylor/Waikato Times.
An RNZAF No 3 Squadron Iroquois yesterday airlifted the first sections of a new Te Araroa boardwalk onto the summit ridges of Pirongia mountain.
The Pirongia boardwalk - one of the longest in New Zealand - is part of Te Araroa's route from Hamilton to Waitomo. During the next month, teams will begin the job of installing the 800 metres of steps and decking on site.
The boardwalk is built in prefabricated sections that have been trucked to a farm halfway up the slopes of the 1000-metre-high mountain. From there, the work has been split into two parts. Heavy lifting and installation.
Local pilot Alister Boyd flew the Te Araroa installation team of mainly Ngaruawahia High School students to Pahautea Hut near the Pirongia summit on Monday. He then made another 15 trips with 300 kg loads of foundation timber and bolts.
Te Araroa's team prepares to fly to the summit: Back row left to right - Melany Fitzsimmons, Charmaine Hopa and Nicole Fitzsimmons, who all built prefabs sections at Ngaruawahia High School last year.
Front row left to right Noel Sandford, Te Araroa Construction Manager, Jason Pitts (Ngaruawahia High) Matt Borgas from Te Kuiti, and Casey Slight (Ngaruawahia High). An eighth team member, Kerry Bond, is not shown.
Two days later (yesterday) the Air Force arrived . . . to sort 900 kg loads and deploy its own loadmasters to guide the lifting of each load from the farm site and dropping it near the Pirongia summit.
The construction timetable calls for the the Air Force to lower the heavy prefabs on or near the foundations put in position by the installation teams.
Casey Slight awaits the arrival of another 300 kg load of tanalised
timber, flown in Monday by a Heliworx Robinson 44.
The prefabricated sections were built by eight Waikato schools last year. The 120 separate sections - complete with handrails as demanded by the building code - were trucked to the farm last month.
Te Araroa's construction manager Noel Sandford said the year 12 carpentry students who'd constructed the 120 units within their classrooms last year helped Te Araroa Waikato Trust cut its costs. "They've done an awesome job - I'm rapt with what they did, and I've found no serious mistakes or omissions from the design specs they were given."
Students from Hamilton Boys High School, Cambridge High, the Church College of New Zealand, Hillcrest High, Huntly College, Ngaruawahia High, St Paul's Collegiate and Te Awamutu College built the units, and some students will be back on the mountain over the next month, helping put them in place.
Te Araroa relies mainly rely on volunteer work, and donations. According to Margaret Evans, chair of Te Araroa Waikato Trust, the boardwalk has already cost close to $100,000 and another $100,000 of costs is expected.
"We originally asked Waikato DoC to include Pirongia's western route into Te Araroa, and DoC agreed, provided we upgraded the existing muddy route with a boardwalk from Pahautea Hut to the Hihikiwi summit," she said. "That turned into a very large project - so far Trust Waikato, Sky City Hamilton, WEL Energy, the Perry Foundation, Gallaghers Group, the Mayors Taskforce for Jobs, and DoC itself have all put money into it."
Margaret Evans said she was very pleased the Air Force had also agreed to support the programme. The Air Force team included the pilot, a Morrinsville man Flight Lieutenant Paul Aitken, Flying Officer Hayden Madsen, Sergeant Ben Fraser and Sergeant Anysley Leigh.
