Health crisis inspires Obi Lodge owner’s journey home

Anita Desmet ... a personal trainer and commercial pilot who has run her own bed and breakfast and catering businesses, is no stranger to goals and determination.

A fully self-contained one-bedroom apartment on the lower-level is available for short-term let but the upper level or whole house is available for workshops or weekend retreats.

AFTER 18 years in Canada, Anita Desmet decided to return to Australia and gave friends a description of the type of property she would like to buy.

Those friends happened to be renovating a Mapleton house to flip that matched Anita’s shopping list and she was sold.

The property was tenanted until January 2024 so Anita rented elsewhere but did not give up on being in her house in time for her 50th birthday, a wish she wrote on a piece of paper and tucked into a diary.

“I set the intention there,” she said.

A few months later, the tenants parted ways and Anita moved into the house while one swapped into her rental.

“We even used the same removal truck. You couldn’t imagine it,” Anita said.

Anita, a personal trainer and trained commercial pilot who has run her own bed and breakfast and catering businesses, is no stranger to goals and determination.

In 2010, she was diagnosed with a tumour and given four months to live but has managed to keep the growth at bay with healthy living.

She is now keen to help others live their best lives and Obi Lodge, obilodge.au, is central to her plan.

A fully self-contained one-bedroom apartment on the lower-level is available for short-term let but the upper level or whole house is available for workshops or weekend retreats.

“The whole house can be opened up for groups, for example women’s retreats or workshops that I might hold myself or bring in other speakers or people might come in and rent the space and I might cater for them – I’m flexible,” she said.

Anita sold up in Canada after the end of her second marriage and returned to the Sunshine Coast with two suitcases, a PA system and a plan. “I’m a big girl and I’ve experienced a lot in life and I’ve lived in a few different countries so I can do this,” she said.