MALLEE FOWL RESTAURANT: Monash in the Riverland region of South Australia

You occasionally find Caryl Michael and her husband Howard playing music for diners at their Mallee Fowl Restaurant. It's a place aptly named - set in mallee scrub just off the Sturt Highway near Monash in the Riverland.

And just as the Mallee Fowl collects a pile of left over and discarded material to make its rambling nest, so too, here where the nick-nacks collected over a life-time take pride of place on the rafters of a barn-like setting.

Lisa asked "So where did you get all this stuff from?"

Howard Michael answered "Well it's a matter of collecting… out of various sheds, out of various dumps and out of various places."

And each piece has it's own particular story like the buffalo horns and the 1934 Ford B Truck grill and something a little lighter - a foam bi-plane made as part of a fund raising effort for the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

"My cobber, Charlie and I got together we made a plane up and we put it on top of our houseboat and when it got caught in the wind it really did fly."

Now, like so much else, it's landed in the struts and beams of the Mallee Fowl which has become a bit of a haven for devotees of Country and Western Music. In fact some might remember Howard Michael from appearances on the Country and Western Hour with the likes of Johnny Mack.

The restaurant still provides the ideal setting for a good old hoe-down especially out in the remains of the old quarry which Caryl, through months of back breaking work, converted into her own little amphitheatre.

"This is Caryl's success here. She dug all the terraces and laid everyone of the stones out here. In fact, we gave her a "rocktologist" award for her love of the stone. It was very hard work and she took a lot of delight in doing it. It's been a little bit of a bugbear that she hasn't finished right around to the far side."

"She's probably waiting for you to finish that off?"

"No, I think I'll give that a miss."

And that's fair enough after all Howard and a mate build the Mallee Fowl complex from scratch.

"A friend and his wife, Caryl and I and with a cask of wine and a little campfire and we actually went and got a book of Banjo Patterson and we were reading Banjo Patterson poems. We said what a wonderful spot this is. We ought to build a restaurant here."

Now the restaurant has become a must for locals and visitors to the Riverland as Caryl cooks up a storm on the open grill which, like the music, takes centre stage at the Mallee Fowl. Howard's makeshift cellar in an old concrete water tank provides an endless supply of local Riverland reds. For Caryl life at the Mallee Fowl is the culmination of a dream.

Caryl Michael: "I think I just love country life. It's just lovely to just sit out in the mallee. The mallee is actually very beautiful when you live with it and you see the changes of it. I never used to think that until we actually lived in it and you see the seasons come and go. I just love it. It's a good place to be just having a bit of food and wine… and singing along."

The Mallee Fowl is open Thursday, Friday and Saturday or by appointment. To book contact 08 8582 2096. The amphitheatre will host a number of bands during the Riverland Country Music Festival over the June long weekend. If you have any further questions please email info@postcards-sa.com.au