A Farm, A Fight, And A Life That Inspires

Karinda Anderson knows what it means to live life with purpose. After surviving a catastrophic brain aneurysm in 2004 and carrying the weight of an ongoing cancer diagnosis, she has faced many nights in despair. Yet through every struggle has emerged a woman whose heart beats for others, whose compassion drives her, and whose farm has become a lifeline of inspiration.

Karinda and her husband Dale are the soul of Oh Deere Farm Stay and Tours, a Calen treasure where sugarcane isn’t just a crop, but a story worth knowing.

“Plenty of people can show you a farm, but no one else can take you inside the beating heart of a working sugarcane farm,” Karinda says.

The tours are immersive, and more often than not, life-changing.

“Visitors don’t just look, they live the story of this crop that built our region.

“By walking the rows, seeing the soil, and standing alongside the very equipment generations of farmers relied on, visitors connect with the spirit of the region in a way no textbook ever could.”

For Karinda, agritourism is more than a business, it’s a platform to educate, entertain, and inspire.

“Our tours are as much about the people as they are about the paddocks. We give them more than a tour… we give them a story.”

And that story brings laughter and tears in equal measure.

“That’s when we know we’ve created a memory bigger than sugarcane and bigger than tractors… that’s why we do what we do.”

Favourite Quote: “Say it how it is, and make the most of life.”

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