AFF Gathering #14 in CBR on 4 - 6 December 2020

**This event is now fully booked! For those who've already registered, this thread contains important information & updates about the weekend. We look forward to seeing you soon.**

Canberra has been chosen as the AFF Annual Gathering destination for 2020, occurring over the weekend of the 4th to 6th December; this will be the second time the event has been held in the final month of the year. The average temperature range for December is 11.9ºC to 26.3ºC. The average rainfall is 53.2mm with 7 rainy days. It is Australia's eighth most populous city (as of June 2018) representing 1.83% of Australia.

Canberra has previously played host to an Annual Gathering, as the fifth city chosen in the fourth year (2011). On that occasion, 13 attendees made the journey. Canberra is not the first city to play host twice, with Melbourne previously taking that honour as the first (2008) and eighth (2014); Adelaide as the second (2008) and twelfth (2018); and more recently Sydney as the third (2009) and thirteenth (2019).

Helping to organise this year will be @support & @Mattg.

If you're attending, we recommend downloading the Check in CBR App. Due to COVID-19, please be mindful to practice good hygiene and social distancing where possible. If you are unwell, please do not attend.

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Schedule

Here is the itinerary for the weekend:

Friday 4th December
To start the weekend, we'll be holding a dinner at Southern Cross Yacht Club, Yarralumla. You are welcome to arrive between 6.30pm-7.30pm for drinks at the bar, and dinner will be served from 7.30pm-9.30pm. There will be a fixed 3-course menu (we can account for dietary requirements), and the cost is $59 per person. Drinks will be available for purchase from the bar on the night.

Saturday 5th December - morning activities

Saturday Activity Option 1 - Parliament House tour
We'll meet at Parliament House and join a 30-minute public tour of the building. There is no cost for this activity - you'll just need to make your own transport arrangements to/from Parliament House. You must be at Parliament House by 10.15am, in preparation for the tour which will take place from 10.30-11am. We'll meet outside the main entrance, before the security checkpoint.

Saturday Activity Option 2 - visit to Australian War Memorial
Join other AFF members for a visit to Australian War Memorial. Please note that tours are not currently available, so you'll be visiting as a guest. There is no cost for this activity - you'll just need to make your own transport arrangements to/from Australian War Memorial. Meet outside the main entrance at 11.30am.

Saturday Activity Option 3 - Full-day winery tour
This will be a full-day winery tour with a maximum of 10 people, running from around 9.30am until approximately 3.30pm. You'll be picked up from Pepper's Gallery Hotel in Civic in a comfortable air-conditioned vehicle and visit 3 wineries in the Canberra region. The cost is $190/person and includes lunch at Olleyville as well as a professional guide for the day. Note: This tour includes visits to wineries in NSW and it is recommended that you eat breakfast before joining the tour.

Saturday 5th December - evening
On Saturday evening, we'll be holding a dinner at Kingston Hotel. Before the dinner, there will be an optional one-hour Frequent Flyer Points Masterclass + Q&A session hosted by AFF editor Matt Graham from 6-7pm. This event is sponsored by Frequent Flyer Solutions and attendance is free, but you'll need to register.

After this, the main dinner will commence at 7.15pm. There will be a guest speaker at this dinner. Members will be able to order and pay for food & drinks on the night - no pre-payment is required.

Sunday 6th December
On Sunday we're offering a sightseeing tour to some of Canberra's best outdoor spots.

Sunday Tour - Mt Ainslie, Lanyon Homestead & Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve
Departing from Pepper's Hotel at 9.45am on Sunday morning, we'll visit Mt Ainslie for panoramic views over Canberra before heading to the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve in the south of Canberra, where you'll see some of the local wildlife including koalas and we'll stop for a short walk. Along the way, we'll visit Lanyon Homestead for a homestead heritage tour and lunch at the Barracks Café. We'll return to the airport by 4.45pm & the city at around 5pm. The cost is $80/person excluding lunch. This tour will remain entirely within the ACT and we recommend bringing a bottle of water with you.

 

[gwilli1]

Following

 

[BriarFlyer]

Gold for my (potentially) first gathering. It's on the calendar so that's step one.

 

[get me outta here]

Whilst waiting for the CBR get together to kick off tonight, I thought I’d ask about the Kingston hotel function room availability for the Saturday night. I am aware that the date that has been picked for this get together is in a very busy period. Presently, the Kingo function room would hold everybody and requires a deposit and a spend of $1000 which if split between 40 is only $25 each.

Hvr suggested that perhaps the BAM could be brought to CBR.

The Kingston hotel function room set up for dinner tonight:

 

[kookaburra75]

Whilst aiting for the CBR get together to kick off tonight, I thought I’d ask about the Kingston hotel function room availability for the Saturday night. I am aware that the date that has been picked for this get together is in a very busy period. Presently, the Kingo function room would hold everybody and requires a deposit and a spend of $1000 which if split between 40 is only $25 each.

Hvr suggested that perhaps the BAM could be brought to CBR.

The Kingston hotel function room set up for dinner tonight:

The Kingo would be good for the dinner.
Maybe for Friday night we could have drinks at the Dickson Tradies, which is on the site of Canberra's first airport? Dickson, Australian Capital Territory - Wikipedia
They serve Canberra region wines and the food is quite good.

 

[get me outta here]

If somewhere is not booked soon it will prob be too late to get a large group booking at that time of the year (the Friday night has already been booked by others). The Kingo requires a deposit, and I would suggest a $25 ph pre payment within weeks.

The Kingo would be good for the dinner.
Maybe for Friday night we could have drinks at the Dickson Tradies, which is on the site of Canberra's first airport? Dickson, Australian Capital Territory - Wikipedia
They serve Canberra region wines and the food is quite good.

 

[straitman]

Silver/Goldish for now.

This is at the tail end of a 2 month trip for us so a definite maybe at best.

 

[QF WP]

Same as @straitman - may be able to get there but this far out, very hard for me to confirm.

 

[Bjet]

Plantium for me! It's easy for me to get there in Dec... the problem is that we are gonna be fat!! Lots of christmas food EVERY WEEK in December!

 

[Mattg]

@support and I are currently in the early stages of planning for the weekend. We already have some ideas of our own, but at this point we wanted to ask if any CBR locals/regulars have any suggestions for activities and/or restaurants they think we should consider?

(We've already noted the Kingston Hotel suggestion )

 

[Lynda2475]

Gold for me at this stage - would it be sacreligious to take the bus rather than fly?

 

[I love to travel]

The Kingston is not great for accommodation. Somewhere nearer to the CBD and the hotels on Northbourne Ave might be better given that taxis might be harder to come by at that time of year.

 

[get me outta here]

I'm not a wine person so cannot help there I'm afraid. But, there is a large brewery in CBR : Bent Spoke https://www.bentspokebrewing.com.au/can-range/.
At Bentspoke, you will also find world renown hamburgers by Brodburger : Brod | Brodburger | Flame grilled burgers | Canberra

Definitely do not plan to actually sleep at The Kingo.

I know how much respect many on here have for all sides of politics, so how about a private tour of Parliament House? It's nearly as grand as the recent private tour of The Opera House isn't it?

 

[Meggsy]

I'm not a wine person so cannot help there I'm afraid. But, there is a large brewery in CBR : Bent Spoke https://www.bentspokebrewing.com.au/can-range/.
At Bentspoke, you will also find world renown hamburgers by Brodburger : Brod | Brodburger | Flame grilled burgers | Canberra

I'm a fan of both but i think you have your breweries mixed up. Brod has a shop at capital brewery at Fyshwick but nothing in Bentspoke when i was there a few weeks back.

 

[get me outta here]

Ok thanks. Yes, I mean Capital Brewery and Brodburger.

I'm a fan of both but i think you have your breweries mixed up. Brod has a shop at capital brewery at Fyshwick but nothing in Bentspoke when i was there a few weeks back.

 

[support]

Thanks for the suggestions, please do keep them coming.

To help with suggestions, the format that has been adapted to work over the years for many weekend events has been to have a lower-priced and a higher-priced evening. Most of the time, the higher-priced evening has come on the Saturday night as more people can make it, however this is not compulsory. Likewise main prizes and speeches tend to be on Saturday in conjunction with the higher-priced evening, but this is by no means set in stone. When I talk about higher-priced, we have only touched $80 three times over 13 events.

This year, we would like to find a venue with either a PAYG drinks menu, or a drinks package. We realise this doesn't suit everybody, but is far easier than remembering what you had to drink at the end of the night and then finding the person capitalising on credit card points. For those that do not drink alcohol, special arrangements can be made if we choose a drinks package.

Activities have taken us all over the place, from boats to Rottnest Island and Williamstown, to buses to the Barossa and Wollongong. We have also simply used our legs to get to the Opera House. At the end of the day though, some form of transportation will be needed, be it public or private, part of a broader tour or a private tour, to ferry us around.

These are all things that the organisers will be factoring in to come up with the best possible weekend.

 

[get me outta here]

One if the reasons the Kingo is popular is that it is BuyYOD. However, as the Friday night is not available, it will not suit for the inexpensive night.

 

[get me outta here]

For the Saturday night dinner The Boathouse on Lake Burley Griffin could be a good option. They have a restaurant and various capacity private rooms. I have been to various functions there, but not for some time - perhaps others may have more recent experiences?

The price seems to be as you have suggested and they have a 'drinks on consumption' option, as well as a drinks package. Seems a BYO option is $25 a bottle.

https://theboathouse.restaurant/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Private-Dining-2019-2020.pdf

Restaurant - The Boat House, Canberra

Discover fine dining at The Boat House, Canberra's lakeside gem. Enjoy seasonally-inspired menus that elevate the local culinary scene, all set against the stunning backdrop of Lake Burley Griffin.

theboathouse.restaurant

This too will be booked out early though as many companies use it to woo the local decision makers esp at Christmas.

 

[kookaburra75]

As a suggestion, for Friday night check out the Dickson Tradies Club. You can jump our "tram" from the city, and they can do a range of packages plus drinks at club prices, including Canberra region wines. It's also on the site of Canberra's first airport. I can see if I can find a speaker who knows about the history if you want.
There's also good accommodation there (Quality Inn) that my parents have used and enjoyed

 

[support]

At this stage, we are looking at a slightly more upmarket Friday night venue, but have no contenders. Saturday we have the function space at the Kingston Hotel and full details of the dinner will be released as they come together. At this stage though we are looking at 'a la carte' meal choices and a cash bar, which I think is sure to tick most members boxes.

We are also piecing together activities for the Saturday and Sunday and welcome suggestions on these, along with a suggested flow (A first, then to B, before going to C, etc...).

 

[knagelli]

Interested to attend , will be Gold at this stage as it might end up being my first ... cheers