Rotoroa Island
“While working together to achieve tangible and long-lasting outcomes is a feature of our office life, our time spent on Rotoroa Island offers the opportunity for the team to directly contribute to one of our big picture goals - sustainability.”
— James McGhie, Managing Director
Members of Apex Insurace, Apex Advice Group, and IUNZ at Rotoroa Island, March 2023
Rotoroa Island is a place where passion, dedication, knowledge and hard work are restoring native plants and preserving them for future generations. For the past 12 years Apex has been working to help sustain Rotoroa Island’s native flora and fauna. Here’s how.
The natural beauty of Rotoroa Island is hard to describe in words, but ‘another world’ almost does it justice. Each year the Apex team takes time out of the office to assist the Rotoroa Island Trust in maintaining and caring for the island’s unique and precious habitat.
For the past 12 years members of the Apex team experience first hand the conservation of iconic New Zealand species on Rotoroa island. Our visits to Rotoroa Island are an important part of the Apex culture and an invaluable way to reconnect after the Christmas and New Year break. Teaming up with the full-time on-site team to clear paths, cut back flax and water trees is as energising as it is rewarding. We learn first hand the challenges the island faces and become part of the successes each time we return.
Photographs from rotoroa.org
“On March 24, a group of 40 individuals from Apex Insurance, Apex Advice Group, and IUNZ embarked on the Dream Weaver vessel to set sail for the stunning Rotoroa Island, located in the Hauraki Gulf. For 12 wonderful years we have witnessed the island's flora and fauna transform before our eyes and take great pride in the enduring spiritual journey we have shared with the island, thanks to the exceptional foresight and vision of the Rotoroa Island Trust.
Our primary objective for 2023, as outlined by Caretaker Glen, was to address the stormwater drains by clearing out any debris and vegetation to ensure that the stormwater system can withstand significant rainfall and prevent erosion damage on the island. The team put in a combined 130 hours of grueling labour, and we were thrilled with the results we achieved along the trail. To celebrate our achievements we enjoyed a delightful BBQ at Home Bay and a refreshing swim in Ladies Bay.
Rotoroa holds a special place in our hearts, and we cherish the timeless eternity we have spent here, with no other place we would rather be.”
“Your team did a staggering amount of work in such a short time on the island. You hand carried in excess of 500 litres of water to around 90 rare thirsty trees, cleared flax from 130 metres of roadway and disposed of the vegetation and picked up over 2000 seeds that would have otherwise dispersed across the island causing a multitude of issues.”
— Glen Lucas, Rotoroa Island Manager
Visit Rotoroa Island at rotoroa.org.nz
