The flooding-induced struggles of many tourism-reliant communities along the Murray River continue as bookings dry up and visitors stay away.
The ABC reports that the Karen and Ed Dunstan from the Corowa Caravan Park on the New South Wales side of the river have spent the last few months cancelling more than 500 bookings after the park was completely submerged by water.
“Christmas is normally booked out. New Year’s Eve, we’re normally fully booked out but I’ve had to go and cancel all of those,” Mrs Dunstan said. “Financially, it’s a big hit in the pocket because there’s no paying visitors or customers coming in at all.”
Water levels reportedly need to drop by about two metres before any cleaning up can occur and, with more rain on the cards, it’s not known when that might happen.
Tourist activities on the The Murray River have been severely curtailed this year. PIC: Clarko1959 / Pixabay
The ABC reports that the park has been battling rising water levels since August, and Mr Dunstan said people were viewing any travel to the Murray River regions as ‘too risky’ and were looking to holiday elsewhere.
“Just with the water around, people are going to be a little bit scared to come away and camp on the riverbanks because you just don’t know what’s going to happen at this stage,” he said.
Further down the Murray, the ABC reports that businesses in Echuca and Moama were also desperate for more visitors.
Campaspe Shire Council Mayor Rob Amoss said the twin cities had plenty to offer tourists, even when the Murray River was closed for recreation.
“We’ve got the silo art tour,” he said. “We’ve got great golf courses, bowling clubs, art galleries, museums, great cafes, pubs, breweries and wineries.”
However, Cr Amoss told the ABC that while visitors to Echuca were welcome, people needed to be mindful that the threat of flooding was ongoing. A 2.5-kilometre man-made levee with sandbags and pumps is still in place.
Richard Linke, the manager of Echuca cafe, The Nook, said the town’s main street was near empty.
“It’s pretty barren for this time of year, there’s nobody here,” he told the ABC. “It’s going to take a bit to get those tourists back, because caravan parks will be out of action for a while [and] camping on the river will be out of action for a while.”
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And then there’s the mozzies…..
Plus the Ross River Fever & Japanese Encephalitis that they’re carrying.
Would ANYONE be stupid enough to be camping near the Murray river right now?
Keep well away at this time. Being trapped by floodwaters in Shepparton for 5 days taught us a lesson.
You have to feel for all out there who are struggling with this natural disaster
Thank you Tommy, the only educated response of the bunch