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October 22 - 28 | $2990 PPThe Veteran Rise Retreat: Yandina Creek
An intentional pause from the pace of everyday life.
The Veteran Rise Retreat in beautiful Yandina Creek on The Sunshine Coast is the perfect oasis of coastal bushland offering you a peaceful stay where you get to experience both the beach and the bush lifestyle everyday whilst with us. The Rise Retreat is designed to help you slow down, reconnect, and return to yourself—through guided group surf therapy, pscyho-educational workshops surrounding transition, identity, relationships combined with real life practical techniques to help restore your nervous system so that you can move from surviving into thriving.
❋ Intentional StructureWe blend all of our group workshops with open exploration, and space to reflect—so the experience feels both focused and fluid on the topics that are most relevant to you.
❋ Collaborative EnergyConnection is a core part of the process. You’ll learn just as much from the group as from the content itself.
❋ Expert FacilitationLed by experienced facilitators with lived experience who know how to hold a trauma-informed space, encourage participation, and keep things moving with purpose.
❋ A Supportive SpaceOur events prioritise comfort, safety, and respect—so you can show up as you are and fully engage in the process.
A Week Designed With Purpose
Every aspect of this retreat has been thoughtfully designed to support connection, reflection, growth, and recovery.
While some experiences are intentionally left undisclosed, participants can expect a carefully balanced blend of ocean immersion, personal development, meaningful conversation, and shared adventure. Facilitated by experienced professionals with backgrounds in nursing, social work and veteran wellbeing, behind every activity sits a foundation of neuroscience, trauma-informed care, positive psychology, and evidence-based practice.
This isn’t about escaping life for a week. It’s about creating the space to reconnect with yourself, strengthen your capacity for what’s ahead, and return home with greater clarity, confidence, and connection.
What To Expect
Over six transformative days, you’ll be immersed in a carefully curated blend of ocean-based experiences, personal development, education, and meaningful connection alongside other women who understand the unique challenges of military service and life beyond it.
Throughout the week, you can expect a range of experiences including surf therapy, surf lessons, ocean safety education, surf rescue and breath-hold training, yoga, sound healing, guided reflection, facilitated group discussions, mental health workshops, and inspiring guest speakers.
Every activity has been intentionally selected to support wellbeing, resilience, self-awareness, and post-traumatic growth.
Whether you’re looking to reconnect with yourself, build confidence in the ocean, gain practical tools for life after service, or simply spend time with women who understand your journey, this retreat provides a safe and supportive environment to do just that.
You’ll leave with more than memories.
You’ll leave with new skills, meaningful connections, practical strategies, and a renewed sense of possibility for the road ahead. We know better than anyone that your time with us is just the beginning, so once you leave - we keep in contact to ensure you’re travelling okay, to help with any referrals or DVA advice and to help you find a suitable surf club back in your local area.
For anyone that’s local, we offer ongoing engagement through our Flow House social group and 1:1 peer support mentoring is available in person and online along with the option for the continuation of private surf lessons or ongoing weekly surf therapy.
Veteran Rise Coaches & Volunteers
Tammy
We’re so lucky to have an amazing team here at Flow House and we couldn’t do it without these amazing women. Every staff member has been chosen for a specific reason - not just because they have the qualifications but because their personalities, interests and passions align with Flow House and our participants. Connection is everything around here, so we hope you love them as much as we do!
Kirra
You won’t miss Kirra - this beautiful smile comes everywhere. After spending 4 years in Artillery, Kirra discovered a love for surfing through surf therapy for her mental health and so generously donates her time to come help with everything and anything throughout the intensive program.
Sez and Flick
You’ll be spending 2hrs every morning on the beach with Sez, Flick, Tammy as they will be your main surf coaches guiding you through the group discussions and teaching you everything from beginner basics all the way through to pushing you on to your first real green wave. Your experience level doesn’t matter, we have you completely covered no matter if it’s your first time surfer or whether you’re a seasoned wave chaser.
Both of them long-time surfers, coaches and passionate advocates for women in surfing.
These absolute power houses are the perfect fit here at Flow House because not only can they shred a wave as good as they can a beer, but, they’re banter is absolutely on point for veterans without sacrificing professionalism or safety.
You can also expect to hear from them during our surf therapy component, everyone around here practices what we preach so it’s a unique opportunity for you to hear the perspective of two women who don’t have experience within Defence but perhaps have similar experiences as women living her on The Sunshine Coast.
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Hannah
If you’re applying for a subsidy, it’s this incredible human you can thank! Hannah spent 10 years as a Medic in Army and is now an exercise physiologist. She came on our first retreat as a participant and found it so beneficial she decided to make a financial donation and is now a major sponsor. We can’t wait to welcome Hannah back on retreat, this time as a volunteer with lived experience to help you navigate it too.
How It Works
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Browse our upcoming events to find the one that feels right for you.
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To be eligible for enrolment, you must submit an expression of interest. We have this for a very specific reason - to keep you and the other participants safe. This process enables us to assess applications to ensure every participant is physically and mentally ready to participate in the program.
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If you’re eligible to apply for an enrolment based on your EOI we will send you an extensive questionnaire which is the next step. After completion, we'll send you an official offer to enrol with everything you need to know—detailed schedules, packing list recommendations, add-ons to consider, and more.
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Complete the enrolment and pay your deposit to secure your spot. We'd recommend booking your transportation to and from the event as soon as possible, to ensure you can arrive without any complications or delays.
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Now all that's left to do is pack your bags and get excited for your new adventure. We’ll be in touch closer to the date to make sure you’re fully ready to go.