Employees from Mackersy Property are ditching the desks today for 12 hours of walking up Mauao, in an effort to raise funds for those impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle.

The nationwide event by the company is named 'Mackersy Property's Grunt for Gabrielle,” and is also taking place in Christchurch and Arrowtown.

Tauranga based marketing and communications advisor Aimee McMaster says the team is hoping to walk '1640km collectively,” representing the difference between their Queenstown office and Gisborne.

'Everyone is feeling a bit intimidated about the walking, but we're all really looking forward to getting out there for a good cause,” says Aimee.

'We're setting up a marquee outside the surf club with food and drink for the team, and people can come down and buy a sausage if they'd like to donate that way.”

Participants will start their journey at 10am today. The final walk up Mauao will finish at 10pm. Aimee says the team will be taking shifts, and there are a few people who are 'going to carry on throughout the whole event” only stopping for a few food breaks.

'There's about eight in total from our office who are going to be stepping away from their desks for the day to help out. We've also invited some other nearby local businesses to come and give it a go as well.”

When asked how long the shifts will be, Aimee says it will completely depend on how tired the team gets.

"We'll have to see how we go, but we're encouraging anyone to stop by and check out what we're doing!"

All funds raised during the event will be donated to the Mayoral Relief Funds in Gisborne and Hawke's Bay.

For more information about the effort by the Mackersy Property team, visit the GiveALittle page.