Toora Views Bed & Breakfast - Murray Bridge: Ron enjoys the work of a timber crsftsman and the river views from this Murraylands region Bed and Breakfast in South Australia

It's a beautiful part of the Murray - with the setting sun working its magic at the end of the day. By morning this dairy country at Toora near Murray Bridge (a little under an hour's drive from Adelaide) comes to life as the herd slowly makes its way back to the paddocks after milking. For generations dairy farmers have worked this country but in more recent times others like Mark Russell have moved in - making use of another staple of the Murray - the river red gum. Step inside Mark's showroom and you step into the world of a man obsessed with wood.

Mark Russell, Toora Views B & B: "This is an old jarrah fence post I've cut into blocks and I've done a brick work pattern on it and it comes out quite effective. I've also shaped some old fence posts into the shape of bottles."

Many a slab of red gum has been saved from the pot belly stove and put to a more decorative use. In Mark's Toora Views' showroom you can rummage through fridge magnets, admire his range of coffee tables and kids' school desks and perhaps commission your own hand carved signpost as the producers of Nines MacLeod's Daughters did several years back. But the quiet of the showroom - with its redgum tones and textures - belies the eardrum shattering manner with which these pieces are made when Mark fires up the chainsaw.

The rough cut timber is then sanded with the grain telling the story of each particular tree - thin grain in lean drought years and a more expansive grain in times of flood. For Mark, it's all part of nature's palette and the imperfections give him something to work with. Just how much work he's done with redgum becomes clear when you enter Toora Views' Bed and Breakfast, the small cottage which adjoins the original 1930s homestead.

Lacquered inside the red gum dining table - a redback spider - who was a bit slow to avoid Mark's Russell's brush. The colours in this piece are a stunning reminder of the flames Mark saved it from. His passion for timber also meant he couldn't burn this piece - his very first - a termite eaten branch which he's now turned into a corner lamp. They're all features of this cosy Bed and Breakfast along with Mark's Oregon and canvas canoe which he and son Zac power up at the end of a long day. Out here you can tap into the gentle rhythms of the Murray on the high country above the old dairy flats near Toora about five kilometres from the town of Murray Bridge. For bookings phone Mark or Robyn Russell on 85311066. If you have any further questions please email info@postcards-sa.com.au

Toora Views Bed & Breakfast
Kuchel Road
Toora
5 kilometres ex Murray Bridge
Contact 8531 1066

Published 20th June 2010