Where on Earth is Keith? Have a look at the map! No seriously, it is almost completely and squarely halfway between A to B. , along the A8 between Bordertown and Murray Bridge in South Australia.
We arrived on the 19th of April 2012. This was to be our first work stint on this trip and even though I was not expecting much from the campsite, my first thought on seeing it was that of all the many camping spots we had stayed at during our travels from Shoalhaven Heads down through NSW, Victoria and Tasmania, this one was the last one I would have chosen to spend 2 weeks at, let alone 10. The campsite was stony and sparsely wooded and although there were grassed sites, we were not allowed on them due to our long stay. No, our home for the duration was a gravel driveway next to a small brick bathroom, our "ensuite". It all looked a bit grim, to be honest.
The next day bought an incredibly heavy dew dripping from the gum tree above our van. We set up and slowly began to appreciate the position we had been offered. The ensuite hid us from the rest of the more temporary campers and blocked the terrible white night lights that I assume council forces caravan parks to inflict on their residents, can't think why they would have them otherwise. We had arrived three days after the end of the total fire ban in SA, and gleefully claimed our brazier and first load of pine off cuts from the camp manager. This was a real bonus as Tom and I had resigned ourselves to 10 weeks of no fires-( you are very rarely allowed them in campsites ). This place was beginning to grow on me.
We spent the first day just ambling around the town. Keith is a small place of about 1000 people that sits in a massive area populated by sheep and lucerne farms. It is the Lucerne capital of Australia! It really only became viable as a farming region in the mid 50's. Before this, the whole area was known as the 90 mile desert. Then, the CSIRO discovered that certain trace elements were absent from the soil, and hey presto, desert turned into productive land. Well, productiveish. It still looked unbelievably marginal to our untutored eyes, lots of stony paddocks, very short brown grass and heaps of irrigation canals. We later discovered that the rains that had been battering the rest of the South East had missed Keith, and they were having the driest autumn for 60 years. The town boasted a decent supermarket, two bakeries, a local butcher, a pub and several small cafs, one which was outstanding. It also had a school, right opposite the campsite.
The boys were divided in their opinion of attending school for the term. Oscar had fairly leapt at the opportunity to go, seeing it as a chance to meet new kids and go to "big school" for the first time. Ned, however, was a lot more reticent, understanding that he would be the new kid and that he would have to make new friends- never an easy thing in a class that has probably been together since kindy. I was extremely proud of him, therefore, when he decided to go to school for a term. A big factor in this, I think, was the discovery of a very respectably equipped library on the school grounds, which doubled as a community facility. It had a wonderful array of DVDs as well, with generous borrowing allowances for students…Did I mention the place was growing on me?!
Keith is as I mentioned, one of those places that a lot of people pass through on their way to somewhere else. For those heading West, that place is probably Adelaide, for those heading East, it is en route to Ballarat and Melbourne. It has been an education for me, however, to have to stay for 10 weeks in a place that most would spend only a night in. That was part of the reason for the trip as well- to not just flit through everywhere en route to greener climes, but to occasionally stay and live somewhere we would only end up in through the whims of fate. The whims of fate, on this occasion have served me particularly well, giving the opportunity to work with one of SA's most talented sports physios, Angela Dunsford. I believe that I will come out of this locum a better practitioner and for that, i will sacrifice a marshmallow on the campfire of destiny in thanks to the silent hand that guides our decisions. Keith is also surrounded by several lovely areas- the Coonawarra wine region is only a couple of hours away, the Coorong 50 minutes, and our favorite so far, Narracorte, with its world heritage listed fossils and massive limestone cave systems. We still have the Grampians on our weekend list to visit and the seaside town of Robe, and only 3 weekends left!