EFac 7075—Melbourne 2017 Get together

PROGRESS REPORT from the Organising committee

To members of the EFac70-75 Batch

Further progress has been made on the proposed 2017 Batch Get

Together (BGT) as detailed below.

1) Dates – Friday 17 November to Sunday 19 November

2) Venue – Phillip Island which is about 140 km from Melbourne. Drive

is about 2 hours and 15 minutes from Melbourne CBD. Phillip Island

lies just off Australia’s southern coast and it is famous for fairy

penguins. These little penguins come ashore in groups during

sunset. This spectacle is affectionately known worldwide as the

Penguin Parade. The Nobbies outcrop is the viewing site for Seal

Rocks, home to a large colony of Australian fur seals.

3) Silver Water Resort in Philip Island has been secured for

accommodation for the group. They have resort rooms, 1-bed room

apartments, 2-bed room apartments and 3-bed room apartments.

Competitive rates (which include breakfast) have been negotiated.

Please see the table below for rates.

4) A tentative program for the BGT has been prepared. This will be fine

-tuned over the coming months. See below for program details.

5) A preliminary cost per participant has been estimated. Cost has been

separated to two parts – accommodation costs (since they vary

according to participants’ requirements – see table below for

accommodation costs) and other costs. Other costs are estimated at

approximately $400 per participant and will cover meals, drinks,

music, tours and transport, and entry tickets. These additional costs

will be refined over the coming months. Some optional activities are

listed in the program and the costs of these optional activities are to

be borne by the participants.

6) A separate bank account has been created to register income and

expenditure for the event.

Preethi Jayasundara

Chris Perera

Senavi Abayakoo0n

Varan Karunaharan

Thuraisingham, V

Gamini Adikari

Alex Algaratnam

Bandu Gamage

EFac 7075—Melbourne 2017 Get together

Friday (17 November):

9 am - Meet in Melbourne CBD (exact

location to be decided); luggage of

international/interstate participants can be

loaded into the bus.

9 am – 12.30 pm – Sight-seeing in

Melbourne CBD and surroundings (details

to follow)

12.30 pm - meet in Crown Casino for lunch

2.30 pm – Leave Melbourne for Philip

Island; Check-in at Silver Water Resort.

Travel time is approximately 2 hours and 15

minutes.

5.30 pm – 12 pm - Dinner/Drinks/informal

gathering and Penguin Parade.

Meet at the function hall for drinks/dinner/

informal gathering.

If visiting the Penguin Parade you will

require to have an early dinner and be at

the Penguin Parade venue by 7.45 pm.

You will be able to return to the function

hall approximately after 10 pm or decide

to go straight back to the hotel.

Saturday (18 November):

Breakfast until 9.00 am

9.00 am to 12 noon – Visit to Koala Conservation Centre and Philip

Island Wildlife Park

12 noon – 2 pm – Lunch.

2 pm -5 pm – Visit to the Philip Island Grand Prix Circuit , Beach,

and Nobbies.

Optional - Below are some activities participants may want to do

instead of the above scheduled activities during 2-5 pm. These are

optional items, which are not paid for, but transport will be

provided.

Option 1 - 4 Parks Pass $57 per person

Option 1/1. General Viewing Penguin Parade

Option 1/2. Koala Conservation Centre

Option 1/3. Churchill Island Heritage Park

Option 1/4. Antarctic Sanctuary

Option 2 - Wild life cruises ($78); cruise time 1 hour 45

minutes

Option 3 - Philip Island Chocolate Factory ($17 per person)

6 pm – midnight: Meet at the function hall for formal get together

including drinks/dinner/music; Dress will be smart casual.

Sunday (19 November):

Breakfast until 9.30 am

9.30 am – Leave Philip Island; Scenic tour of

the Dandenong Ranges

12.00 – 1.30 pm Lunch in Mount Dandenong;

Group photo; Formal farewell

1.30 pm – Leave Mount Dandenong for

Melbourne CBD

2.30 pm - 4.00 pm – Melbourne Cricket

Ground (MCG) Tour

or National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) Tour

or Australian Centre for the Moving Image

(ACMI) Tour

Participants can select to attend one of the

above tours.

4.00 pm - BGT finish. (Transport will be

provided to Flinders Street or Spencer Street

Train Stations)

Program

EFac 7075—Melbourne 2017 Get together

ACCOMODATION Page 1

Competitive prices have been negotiated for 4 types of accommodation (resort rooms, 1-bed room

apartments, 2-bed room apartments and 3-bed room apartments) at Silver Water Resort, and the rates and

bedding/bath arrangements are given below in the table. These rates are per night and include full

breakfast. More details of accommodation and other facilities at Silver Water Resort can be found at

http://silverwaterresort.com.au/.

Type of accommodation Number of persons occupying each bedroom

Cost per person/couple per night( A$) including breakfast

Comments

Resort Room (Hotel type room with attached bathroom)

Single person 169.00 Rate for 1 person

couple 194.00 Rate for 1 couple

Single person 199.00 Rate for 1 person Single Bed Apt (Includes attached bathroom, kitchenette etc) couple 224.00 Rate for 1 couple

2 Bed Room Apt (Includes one bathroom, 2 bedrooms, kitchenette, sitting room etc; Bedding Arrangement: Option 1: 2x Double Bed, and Option 2: 1x Double Bed & 2x Single Beds)

2 persons, one in each room

134.50 Rate for 1 person, occupying a room

4 persons, two in each room

159.50 2 single persons (rate for 2 persons) or 1 couple (rate for couple), occupying a room

2 bed Apt with 2 ensuite bathrooms (same facilities as 2 Bed Room Apt above)

2 persons, one in each room

169.50 Rate for 1 person, occupying a room

4 person, 2 in each rooms

194.50 Rate for 1 couple, occupying a room

3 bed room 2 toilet apt (same as 2 bed Apt but with 3 rooms with one ensuite room; Bedding Arrangement: Option 1: 3x Double Bed, Option 2: 6x Single Bed, Option 3: 2x Double Bed & 2x Single Bed, and Option 4: 1x Double Bed & 4x Single Bed

3 persons, one in each room

116.34 Rate for 1 person, occupying a room

4 persons, 2 in each room

187.00

2 single persons (rate for 2 persons) or 1 couple (rate for couple), occupying a room (one room could be vacant)

6 persons, 2 in each room

141.34 2 single persons (rate for 2 persons) or 1 couple (rate for couple), occupying a room

EFac 7075—Melbourne 2017 Get together

General Notes

1) If 3 couples plan to take the 3-bed room apartment, and if one couple wants the ensuite bed room,

then we suggest $164 for the ensuite bed room and $130 for each of the other bed rooms. If the

group is not particular about who gets the ensuite bed room, then they can allocate the bed rooms

as they wish and share the cost equally or otherwise.

2) If a group of people want to share the same apt, please nominate your requirements during initial

correspondence by 30 April 2017 to Chris Perera by email (chris.perera@vu.edu.au).

3) Cost calculation examples:

a) For a couple in a ‘2-Bed Apt with one toilet’ sharing the apartment with another couple, the

cost of accommodation for the entire stay is $319. The total approximate cost for the entire

BGT is estimated at $1,119.

b) For a couple in a ‘Single Bed Apt’, the total cost of accommodation cost for the entire stay

is $448. The total approximate cost for the entire BGT is estimated at $1,248.

c) For a couple in a ‘3-Bed Apt’ sharing the apartment with 2 other couples, the cost of

accommodation for the entire stay is $293. The total approximate cost for the entire BGT is

estimated at $1,093.

d) For a single person in a ‘Resort room’, the cost of accommodation for the entire stay is

$338. The total approximate cost for the entire BGT is estimated at $728.

Please note that the accommodation options given in the table above only apply to Friday (17th Nov)

and Saturday (18th Nov) nights. Those who require accommodation on Thursday (16th Nov) and

Sunday (19th Nov) nights may want to use the accommodation options in Melbourne CBD given below,

but have to make these bookings directly. Accommodation arrangements for these extra nights are not

included in the program, and will be required to be made by the respective participants themselves. On

Friday (17 Nov), we may be able to provide transport for those participants who stay in Melbourne CBD

hotels to the meeting place in the morning.

Quest East Melbourne, 48 Wellington Parade, East Melbourne 3002, Victoria - Price per day A$155-

A$266

Rydges Hotels – Resorts Melbourne - Price per day A$215 - A$266

Ibis Melbourne Hotel and Apartments, 15-21 Therry St, Melbourne Victoria 3000 - Price per day starting

from A$120

Hotel Grand Chancellor , 131 Lonsdale St, Melbourne Victoria 3000 - Price per day - A$179

Mantra 100 Exhibition, 100 Exhibition St, Melbourne, Victoria - Price per day A$159 - A$179

ACCOMODATION Page 2

EFac 7075—Melbourne 2017 Get together

Costs (subject to further refinement ) -

Costs have been split into two components, Accommodation Costs and Other Costs

This was done mainly to allow participants to have their preferences for accommodation out of

the 4 options at Silver Water Resort. Please see the table above.

Other Costs are estimated at approximately 400 per participant and these costs will cover

meals, drinks, music, tours and transport, and entry tickets to all included activities.

Some optional activities are listed in the program and the costs for these optional activities are

to be borne by the participants.

ACCOMODATION Page 3

EFac 7075—Melbourne 2017 Get together

ACTIONS Page 1

Next important step

It is important that all prospective participants, including those who have

already indicated their willingness to attend, confirm their attendance,

indicating the durations of their stay.

This should be done by sending the information on preferred accommodation

type and the dates to Chris Perera by 30 April 2017 (chris.perera@vu.edu.au).

This will allow us to book accommodation as a block.

Please note that the venue is Philip Island, which is about 140 km south east of Melbourne CBD

(Drive from Melbourne CBD to Phillip Island is about 2 hours and 15 minutes by bus).

Information needed from you is:

a) Number of participants

b) Preferred accommodation type (resort rooms, 1-bed room apartments, 2-bed room

apartments and 3-bed room apartments) – You may have a preference to share the

apartment with certain batchmates. If so, you need to have these discussions

amongst yourselves beforehand and let Chris Perera know the information on who will

share the apartment. When sharing an apartment, it should be shared for the same

number of days.

c) Dietary requirements (vegetarian etc)

d) Full cost of accommodation should be paid as an advance for the event by 15th May

2017 The advance should be paid to the following account.

Please use your surname with first initial as ‘Reference’ when making your payment.

Bank: Commonwealth Bank of Australia

Account Type: Smart Access Account

BSB Number: 062 692

Account Number: 3049 6445

Account Name: Gamani Senarath Adikari

Please note that the rates listed in the accommodation table are special rates negotiated for the

event. If you do not book your accommodation requirements by 30 April, we cannot guarantee

these special rates. Neither can we guarantee accommodation in Silver Water Resort nor any other

accommodation in Philip Island after 30 April 2017.