TFSL Autumn 2021 Newsletter
There’s a cooler tinge in the air as we move through Autumn and the Lodge has seen many of you visiting in record numbers to take advantage of the fantastic mountain biking, hiking and fly fishing at this time of year. Despite the occasional COVID flare ups, regional and interstate travel is largely back to normal. We expect this to continue into Winter now that the vaccination program is well underway.
In the meantime, we have a number of important updates for you...
2021 Annual General Meeting
The Annual General Meeting was held in Canberra in late February and it was great to see many of you there in person and online.
You can read the Chair’s Address and AGM meeting minutes are now available.
We also inducted a number of TFSL Members as new Directors on the TFSL Board, and you can find out more about them here. The TFSL Board accepts nominations for new Directors before every AGM, so if you’re thinking of getting involved and would like to know more, please email members@tfsl.com.au.
Thank you to everyone who took the time to answer our comprehensive Member Survey in late 2020. The new Board is assessing the feedback in the context of a longer term strategic plan to prioritise infrastructure improvements.
The next major priority is the construction of new Lodge Manager accommodation. A prefabricated building design has been selected and is currently being reviewed by the local council as part of the Development Application. We anticipate the Board will need to facilitate a loan to fund the project and hope to proceed with this in late 2021.
Members’ Winter Bookings & Accommodation Credits
We have had a record number of Members’ Winter Priority Bookings already, so please bear with us as we work through availability and options before final confirmations in late April. Guest bookings will be available after priority bookings have been confirmed.
Keeping TFSL Family Friendly
TFSL prides itself on being a family friendly destination, with many of our Members and guests bringing their children to enjoy the wonderful activities at the Lodge and surrounds. We have a number of reminders to members and their guests, to ensure this remains the case:
Children are the sole responsibility of their parents or guardians and must be supervised if they’re using the spa, kitchen or around outdoor campfires.
All hallways and bedrooms are quiet zones for the peaceful enjoyment of all guests. We have a dedicated space for toddlers to play adjacent to the kitchen, the games room downstairs for older children and plenty of outdoor play areas.
The lounge room is an area for relaxing, chatting, playing board games and reading. Children are welcome to use this area under adult supervision for quiet activities, but must vacate by 8pm. Electronic devices should have no audible sound that might disturb other guests, so headphones are strongly recommended.
Please keep in mind that the Lodge relies on lower bandwidth data for our WiFi due to poor local infrastructure. Streaming video on services like Netflix and YouTube is strongly discouraged on the Lodge WiFi as it diminishes the speed for all other guests. If you want to use the internet for high bandwidth services, please use your own mobile device, such as hot-spotting your phone.
Kitchen Duties
The dominant topic in the recent Member survey was frustration with people not cleaning up after themselves in the communal kitchen, especially during busy periods. As a self-catered Lodge, it’s everyone’s responsibility to clear space for others to cook before you sit down to eat and then rinse, sterilise and put away all your own dishes when you’ve finished. Please ensure that your children and guests understand this responsibility too.
While we can’t guarantee a paid dishwashing assistant through Winter evenings, we are assessing some alternative approaches to reduce kitchen traffic jams at peak times.
COVID-19 Policy
We are remaining vigilant with our COVID-19 policy and hope to keep the lodge as open as possible through Winter with the maximum number of permitted guests. The most important aspect of this is to avoid travel to the lodge if you are sick with cold and flu like symptoms, with full refunds available if this is the case. This is imperative for the safety of other guests and staff, especially as we move into colder months. We maintain our advice to reconsider travel to the lodge if you’re in a high risk group and haven’t been vaccinated, and continue to follow all current restrictions outlined by the NSW Government.
Ski Resorts in 2021
Ski resorts are expected to open under almost normal operating conditions from the June long weekend (Snow dependent). Please keep an eye on resort websites for specific information regarding operating status and COVID restrictions in place.
Perisher has their Epic Australia Pass on sale now and Thredbo has just released their Winter Season Pass. Mount Selwyn is still closed since the 2020 bushfires, but has recently announced a significant rebuild plan.
Online Communication Channels
If you’ve received this email, then you at least know that’s working! We send a major email update each season with occasional important reminders in between. If you’re not receiving our emails, please check your Spam folder or email members@tfsl.com.au to notify of a change of email address. Please feel free to share this email with your family and friends.
We also have frequent updates via social media, primarily on our Facebook page, but now also on Instagram and Twitter. Please follow your preferred social channel and feel free to post your own relevant content to our Facebook page, such as gear for sale, sharing travel to the Lodge etc.
The TFSL website is still the main source of authoritative information and we’ll also be publishing these newsletters there from now on. You can use the website feedback form if you ever have suggestions about improving your Lodge stay.
New Members and High Demand for Shares
We’d like to welcome the following new members to the Lodge: Sue Alexander, Michael Lavery, John Mitchel, Greg Hall and John Jackson.
We also have a large number of people on the waiting list for Membership and shares have substantially increased in value in the past few years with recent sales into the mid $20K range. If you’re a Member who’s not using the Lodge frequently and are interested in selling your share, please let us know at members@tfsl.com.au. We've also published answers to some Frequently Asked Questions about share sales on the website.