Nurturing hearts. Restoring energy.
Find the retreat that feels right for you
A calm, supportive place to pause, rest, and reconnect in your own time. Choose an individual healing stay, plan a women’s weekend with purpose, or join a gentle workshop. Set on six secluded acres in Port Stephens, NSW, the Sanctuary offers space to breathe and feel cared for, without pressure or expectation.
Retreats and stays
A gentle hub for restorative experiences
This is the place to understand what each experience involves before you decide anything. Women’s Healing Sanctuary is an Australian not-for-profit set within a calm, nature-connected environment in Port Stephens, NSW.
A blend of paid and subsidised stays helps more women access restorative time when they need it. Every experience is designed to feel emotionally safe and human, supportive without being clinical, and gentle without being vague.
Three ways to spend time at the Sanctuary
Your retreat, your way. Read through the options and choose what feels supportive right now. You do not need to have everything worked out before you reach out.
Individual stays
Quiet time for yourself
Rest at your own pace, spend time in the gardens, and feel gently supported nearby. Each stay can be shaped around what you need, without pressure or expectation.
Group weekends
A women's weekend with purpose
Rest, connect, and share a meaningful few days with people you trust. Your stay also helps create access for another woman who could not otherwise come.
Workshops and events
Rest, reflection, and connection
Small, supportive experiences that blend rest and connection. Past sessions include grief workshops, the Nurture You retreat, and gentle on-site wellness experiences.
What sets us apart
Rest-focused, human, and purpose-led
Women’s Healing Sanctuary centres rest and emotional recovery, not performance or optimisation. The environment is supportive, trauma-aware without being clinical, and shaped so women can engage in ways that feel manageable and meaningful.
As a registered Australian charity with DGR status, the Sanctuary uses a model where paid stays help fund subsidised access for women who could not otherwise attend. This is women supporting women, in a calm and grounded way.
Ready when you are
If it feels right, we're here to support you
Tell us a little about what you need. We will respond with care and help you find the option that suits you best. No pressure, and no need to have everything worked out first.