Lake victoria room

Waterfront Retreat, Wattle Point — East Gippsland

Waterfront Retreat acknowledges the Gunaikurnai people as the Traditional Owners of the land on which we gather, and pays respect to Elders past and present.

A residential venue for gatherings that matter

The Lake Victoria Room sits within Waterfront Retreat at Wattle Point — 20 acres of private bush on the northern shore of Lake Victoria, with 19 self-contained lodges, a private jetty, and a purpose-built function space. It’s a place where a group can gather for two, three or five days at a time, share meals cooked from scratch, walk on Country, and do the work — or the celebrating — that they came to do.

Fifteen minutes from Paynesville, thirty minutes from Bairnsdale, on Gunaikurnai Country.

ROOM AMENITIES
  • Seating for up to 60 (theatre-style)
  • Flat-screen LCD TV
  • Full commercial kitchen
  • Function room
  • Large parking area
  • Fantastic view of wildlife

Trusted by Aboriginal Community Organisations

Over the past several years, Waterfront Retreat has been the chosen venue for multi-day gatherings hosted by Djirra, GLaWAC (Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation), the Lake Tyers community, and the Aboriginal Elders Retreat for Gippsland. Groups have run women’s workshops, Elders’ retreats, staff and board planning days, and cultural residencies here — with smoking ceremonies, walks on Country, and cultural protocols supported and respected throughout.

What the venue offers for community gatherings

  • Room to spread out — 20 acres of bush surrounding the lodges, the function space and the lake edge — plenty of quiet corners for a walk, a yarn, or a moment away from the room.
  • On-Country access — direct walking access to the lake, the bush, and quiet reflection spaces.
  • Space for cultural protocol — ceremony welcome, extended breaks, quiet spaces for Elders, flexibility with the schedule.
  • Everyone stays on site, together — 19 self-contained lodges (one to four bedrooms, wheelchair-accessible options available) accommodate the whole group without splitting people across other venues.
  • Catering that respects dietary needs and cultural preferences, from a chef who works with your team on menus.
  • A purpose-built function space with natural light, views over the lake, and flexible layouts for workshops, yarning circles or formal sessions.

The Room

The Lake Victoria Room is a flexible function space with a meeting room, dining room, welcome area, bar, outside deck and small group area. The room is set up to suit each event — workshop, boardroom, banquet, yarning circle or ceremony — by our team.

Capacity

  • Theatre-style: up to 60 seated.
  • Workshop or seated meal: up to 40 — the configuration we recommend for most retreats, because it keeps every plate and every conversation within reach.
  • Cocktail-style: available by arrangement.

Flexible rental

The Lake Victoria Room is available as a room-only hire — you bring your own catering and set the room up to suit — or as a full-service rental with the room set up by our team and catering by our chef. The on-site commercial kitchen is fully equipped for both options.

The food

Andrew Grinter runs the kitchen. Over three decades of cooking — from some of Australia’s leading restaurants through to nearly twenty years at his own place on the Mornington Peninsula — he’s built his food around the same principles: the best produce he can find, treated simply and honestly, cooked for the people actually in the room.

Menus for your gathering are built with your group, not off a template — from bush-inspired share plates to full three-course dinners, morning teas, working lunches and BBQs on the deck. Dietary requirements and cultural preferences accommodated as standard.

Multi-Day Residential Retreat Packages

Two-day, three-day and extended residential packages are available on an all-inclusive per-head basis — covering function space, lodge accommodation, all meals and grounds access. Bespoke programs designed with your team.

Enquire for a tailored proposal.

The accommodation

Nineteen self-contained lodges in one, two, three and four-bedroom configurations, including wheelchair-accessible options. Every lodge has its own kitchen, bathroom, living area and outdoor space.

On-site facilities for your group

Private jetty, kayaks and bikes for guest use, indoor heated pool, outdoor heated spa, walking tracks through 20 acres of bush, and a resident mob of kangaroos who come up to say hello.

Small weddings and celebrations

The Lake Victoria Room also hosts small, intimate weddings, milestone birthdays, family reunions and celebrations — the kind of gathering built around the people who really matter. Wedding hire is dry hire only.

See our Weddings page for details.

Enquire

Functions, retreats, weddings and events

Andrew Grinter — Lake Victoria Room
Email: functions@waterfrontretreat.com.au
Phone: 0400 332 504

Accommodation-only bookings (lodges without a function)

Gippsland Lakes Escapes
Email: bookings@gippslandlakesescapes.com.au
Phone: (03) 5156 0432

Testimonials

  • To whom it concern,

    In Feb 2023 I and 17 of my colleagues from Rebus Theatre stayed for a five day residency at Wattle Point Waterfront Retreat as part of Project Alchemy.

    We came with significant dietary restrictions, artistic activities beyond the scale of most resorts, and big requests of Andrew like organising massages for participants and a walk on country and smoking ceremony.

    Nothing was too hard for Andrew, the resort manager, to faciliate. The food we were provided was nourishing and unbelievably delicious. Andrew was incredibly generous with his time and knowledge. The location and accommodation were beautiful.

    Myself and Rebus Artistic Director Robin Davidson decided to stay an additional night after the residency to debrief, which also happened to be my birthday.

    Andrew provided room service, and a cake, which being away from home and after a week of hard work, was so above and beyond my expectations.

    I would highly recommend Wattle Point and go out of my way to visit again. Even more highly would I recommend Andrew as a manager, organiser, cook and thoughtful and empathetic human.

    I am happy to be contacted about the above.

    Jen Seyderhelm
    Project Alchemy Manager
    Rebus Theatre

  • Djirra has been delivering workshops for Aboriginal women at Waterfront Retreat for many years. The accommodation is comfortable and clean and the surroundings are so beautiful.

    The sunrises from the Jetty are magnificent and I’ve captured some stunnings photos over the years. The kangaroos delight everyone who stays here, the outdoor spa is a very popular attraction after a long day and a swim in the pool is a delight on a hot day.

    Whilst the venue is perfect, I do want to give a special mention to the care shown to our group by a Manager who is always willing to work with us to ensure our needs and the needs of the women we support at our workshops are always met. This includes the catering, our need for privacy at times as well as being friendly and respectful when interacting with our group.

    Kelly Faldon
    Manager Community Engagement
    Djirra

  • In October 2022, I was honored to host an Aboriginal Elders Retreat for Gippsland.

    Water Front Retreat, Wattle Point, was the preferred location, chosen by a number of Elders across Gippsland. The reason for this choice was the location and positive experiences of past events held there. The Elders love the Retreat for its peaceful location, modern yet comfortable accommodation and wonderful catering.

    Andrew is a delightful host, for whom nothing is too much trouble. He is welcoming and friendly and really put the Elders at ease. He organized for a boat tour of the lakes, with which all who attended were thrilled.

    Everyone loved the few days we were there, and unanimously agreed that a follow up event for 2023, again be held there.

    Those who attended in 2022 will be back, and are looking forward to being ‘on Country’ in such a special place again.

    Sharon Kingaby (she/her)
    Aboriginal Regional Development Officer
    HACC-PYP/CHSP
    LCHS Aboriginal Liaison Officer