Home
A Healing Retreat Near Canberra
Somatic Healing with Horses in the Southern Highlands
If you’ve been carrying the weight of Canberra’s intensity—the work, the politics, the pressure—you know how it lives in your body. The tight shoulders. The shallow breath. The mind that won’t stop.
An hour and a half north, across the Goulburn plains and up into the Southern Highlands, there’s a different frequency. Highlands Centre for Healing sits on 106 acres just outside Moss Vale, backing onto Meryla Flora Reserve.
The horses who live at HCFH have freedom, choice and live in a herd. The air is cool and clean. And the land itself holds a kind of medicine that cannot be described with words.
This is a healing retreat near Canberra, but it’s not what you’d expect from a “wellness retreat.” There’s no schedule. No agenda. No fixing. Just Soo Woods, a herd of horses, and the quiet authority of nature that knows how to hold you while you remember who you are.
This isn’t just another NSW wellness retreat; it’s a transformative experience that stays with you forever.
Why Canberrans Are Making the Drive to Moss Vale
Canberra runs on deadlines, policy, performance. Whether you work in government, education, health, or defence, the culture is cerebral, structured, and relentless. You show up. You deliver. You manage.
But your nervous system has limits, even when your work ethic doesn’t.
Many who come to Highlands Centre describe these patterns:
The drive from Canberra to the Southern Highlands is short—about 90 minutes via the Federal Highway and Hume Motorway. But what you’re crossing is more than geography. You’re leaving the performance. You’re slowing the pace. And somewhere near Goulburn, your breath begins to deepen.
What Happens Here
Ground-Based Equine Sessions
Fifteen horses live at Highlands Centre For Healing. They are not therapy animals in the programmatic sense. They don’t perform tasks. They respond—to your energy, your breath, the state of your nervous system. They reflect what’s happening inside you before your mind catches up.
Sessions are ground-based. No riding.
Just being alongside sentient, 500-kilogram mirrors who offer co-regulation, attunement, and safety without agenda.
This work is often searched for as equine therapy, though at HCFH it’s more accurately described as horse-assisted, somatic, trauma-aware healing. The horses aren’t tools. They’re partners. And in Soo’s experience, they always know what your body needs before you do.
Somatic Energy Healing
60-minute sessions with Soo, integrating somatic awareness, energy work, and the presence of the land. This is body-based, trauma-informed healing that meets you exactly where you are. No pressure. No timeline. No pathologising.
These sessions are guided by embodied practice, and the horses. But Soo doesn’t only work from theory. She works from lived experience, deep listening, and a foundational belief that you are not broken. Trauma is an intelligent survival response. Healing is about returning to coherence, to the wisdom of your body, to the truth of who you are under the story.
Reiki With The Herd
90 minutes of energy healing conducted outdoors with the horse herd. This isn’t psychotherapy. It’s something else—ancient, embodied, and profoundly regulating.
You’ll be held in a field of presence as energy blocks clear and the nervous system softens into safety.
Design Your Own Retreat
Many who travel from Canberra choose to extend their time on the land. Instead of a single session, they gift themselves two, three, or four days—walking the woodland track, sitting with the horses, letting the body recalibrate at its own pace. Other modalities like yoga, breathwork, massage, sound healing are also available – but need to be built into your planned escape.
Soo’s approach is bespoke. You decide the duration. You decide the rhythm. She holds the space. The land does the rest.
The Southern Highlands: Canberra's Hinterland
Moss Vale is the heart of the Southern Highlands, a region rich with heritage towns, rolling farmland, and ancient eucalypt forest. This is Gundungurra and Dharawal Country, and the land holds a presence that predates maps and borders.
The Highlands are home to villages like Bowral, Mittagong, Berrima, Bundanoon, and Robertson. Each carries its own character. Bowral is known for its gardens, galleries, and the Bradman Museum. Berrima is one of Australia’s best-preserved Georgian villages, with sandstone buildings and artisan shops. Bundanoon sits at the edge of Morton National Park, where walking tracks lead through fern gullies and past sandstone escarpments. Robertson is famous for its mist, its dairy farms, and the film Babe.
The altitude here brings crisp mornings even in summer. The light shifts across the paddocks in a way that makes you pause. And the quiet isn’t empty—it’s full of currawongs, crimson rosellas, and the rustle of wind through she-oaks.
If you’ve been living in Canberra’s density—Civic, Belconnen, Woden, Kingston, Gungahlin—the spaciousness of the Highlands will be palpable. It’s not just physical space. It’s nervous system space. The kind that lets you finally exhale.
How to Get Here from Canberra
By Car
Take the Federal Highway (23) north from Canberra toward Goulburn, then merge onto the Hume Motorway (M31) toward Sydney. Exit at Moss Vale. The journey takes approximately 90 minutes to 2 hours depending on traffic and weather.
The drive itself becomes a transition—from the planned streets of Canberra to the wide sky and rolling hills of the Southern Highlands.
By Train
NSW TrainLink operates services from Canberra to Moss Vale via Goulburn. The journey takes approximately 3 hours. From Moss Vale station, it’s a short taxi or uber to the property.
Many guests find the train journey meditative—a slow crossing that mirrors the internal shift they’re making.
Nearby Points of Interest
This is a landscape that slows you down. That’s not a byproduct. That’s the medicine.
The Stables
Rooms within our stables building, with all the comforts of home and direct access to the paddocks and horses.
Gang Gang Hideaway
A quiet retreat space nestled near trees, overlooking the forest where the gang gang cockatoos breed, and roos gather.
The Land
This property is alive. The land is part of the healing. Not as a backdrop, but as a presence. Many people say they feel held here before they even meet the horses.
Who This Work Is For
There’s no checklist. No criteria. If your nervous system is asking for something different, you’re welcome here.
This retreat often calls to:
If you’ve been searching “trauma retreat Canberra,” “equine therapy ACT,” “somatic healing Southern Highlands,” “healing with horses NSW,” or “nature-based therapy near me,” your body is likely calling you here.
Guided by Soo Woods
Soo’s work didn’t begin as a career path. It began as a personal need to find a different way of being.
For much of her life, she moved through the same patterns many people quietly carry, staying functional on the surface while something deeper remained unsettled. It wasn’t a lack of effort or awareness, but a realisation that thinking and talking alone weren’t enough to create lasting change.
That led her toward the body, toward nature, and toward spaces where nothing needed to be forced.
Over the years, Soo has trained in trauma-aware somatic practices and energy work, while also developing a deep, intuitive understanding of how regulation and healing actually unfold in real life. Her approach is shaped as much by lived experience as it is by formal training.
At Highlands Centre for Healing, her role is simple but intentional. She creates the conditions for your system to slow down and come back into balance. There’s no pressure to perform, no expectation to explain yourself, and no fixed path you need to follow.
Working alongside the horses and the land, Soo holds a space that is steady, responsive, and grounded. One where you can begin to feel what’s been pushed aside, without overwhelm. One where change doesn’t come from doing more, but from allowing something different to emerge.
If you’re drawn to this work, it usually means something in you is already ready for that shift.
PRACTICALITIES
- Booking: Sessions and retreats are by appointment. Contact Soo to discuss what would best support you.
- Accommodation: HCFH offers on-site accommodation. Multi-day retreats include extended access to the land and flexible session times. We recommend staying on site to deepen your experience. There is also plenty of nearby accommodation in Moss Vale, Bowral, and Mittagong includes farm stays, heritage B&Bs, and quiet cottages.
- Investment: Reach out for current session and retreat pricing. This is small-scale, deeply personalised work. You’re not paying for a program. You’re investing in held space, lived wisdom, and the medicine of presence.
- Accessibility: The property includes open paddocks, mown woodland tracks, and natural terrain. If you have specific mobility considerations, let Soo know so the session can be tailored to your specific needs.
NATURE-BASED WELLNESS RETREATS FROM CANBERRA
Frequently Asked Questions
How far is the retreat from Canberra, and can I visit for a day?
The retreat is approximately 1.5 hours from Canberra, making it an easy drive for a day visit. Many guests come for a single session, while others choose to stay longer to fully disconnect and settle into the environment.
What types of sessions are available for visitors from Canberra?
Sessions include horse-assisted experiences, somatic healing, and energy-based work. Each session is adapted to your needs on the day, rather than following a fixed structure or program.
Is this suitable if I’m dealing with burnout or ongoing stress from work?
Yes. Many visitors from Canberra come specifically to step away from high-pressure environments. The setting and approach are designed to support nervous system regulation and help you shift out of constant stress patterns.
Do I need to commit to a full retreat, or can I start with one session?
You can start with a single session. There’s no requirement to commit to a multi-day retreat. Some people begin with one visit and decide afterward if they want to return or stay longer.
What others experience in the Southern Highlands
Sharon
Today was a beautiful experience with Soo and her wonderful herd, and along with Jo's teaching into emotion code techniques to help manage our emotional life and releasing trapped emotions. I loved it. Thank you with all my heart to you all, especially the horses!
Jo
Beautiful energy - from the gate! I left my thoughts crowding my head, I tuned into the energy of the land, animals and the gift of nature. Very special space. Highly recommend!
Marion
The location is magic and the overall experience was very special. Waking up to the sound of horses just outside our window was amazing. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay and found the stable accommodation very clean and comfortable. We will definitely be back. Thanks Soo!
Barbara
This day was great, relaxing, calming and what I needed so thank you to everyone for making the day beautiful.
Lily
Thank you for having me in your beautiful, peaceful space. I enjoyed my time here and will remember this forever.
Donna
Learnt some interesting things on how to deal with feelings of loss and couldn't have been in a more beautiful place to do it.
As you return to your routine, the peace of the fog-laden mornings
and the resilience of the ancient forests stay with you.
A Retreat for Canberra's Weary
Canberra is a city built on intention. Order. Structure. But the body doesn’t run on policy. It runs on rhythm, on safety, on the kind of presence that doesn’t demand performance.
The Southern Highlands has long been a place of retreat. It’s close enough to Canberra for a day trip, but far enough to feel like a complete escape. From the cerebral to the embodied. From the structured to the spacious. From managing to simply being.
Highlands Centre for Healing is part of that lineage. Not a brand. Not a program. Just a woman, a herd, and special Gundungurra Country that knows how to hold the things you’ve been carrying.
Join Our Tribe!
Get updates on our next wellness retreat
Stay connected and let healing come to your inbox.
Acknowledgement
We acknowledge that Highlands Centre For Healing is based on Gundungurra country. We pay our deepest respect to elders past, present and emerging of the oldest continuing culture in the world, acknowledging that sovereignty of these lands, waterways and culture was never ceded.
Address
‘Eureka Pines’
674 Nowra Rd, Moss Vale NSW 2577
Phone: 0411 623 479
Open:
| Wednesday | 10 am–5 pm |
| Thursday | 10 am–5 pm |
| Friday | 10 am–5 pm |
| Saturday | 10 am–5 pm |
Copyright © 2023. Highlands Centre for Healing. All rights reserved. Website by Manifest Website Design