Communities along the Murray River are bracing for a barren tourist season amid the worst flooding the region's seen in decades.
Each summer, the river transforms from a calm waterway to a ski-boat super highway as tourists from all corners of Australia descend on the region to bask in the summer sun.
This year, however, the Murray River is going to look a little different.
Health authorities have shut down the waterway amid health fears, and many riverside caravan parks remain underwater, with their operators issuing hundreds of thousands of dollars in refunds.
Karen and Ed Dunstan have spent the last few months cancelling more than 500 bookings after their Corowa Caravan Park on the New South Wales side of the river was completely submerged by water.
"Christmas is normally booked out. New Year's Eve, we're normally fully booked out," Mrs Dunstan said.
"But I've had to go and cancel all of those."
They estimate losses of up to half a million dollars, with cleaning up a daunting thought.
"Financially, it's a big hit in the pocket because there's no paying visitors or customers coming in at all," Mrs Dunstan said.
She said water levels needed to drop by about 2 metres before any cleaning up could occur and, with more rain inevitable, when that could happen was uncertain.
"At this stage, we really can't see an end in sight or how long it's going to go on for," Mrs Dunstan said.
Sites underwater
Mr and Mrs Dunstan have been battling rising water levels since August before evacuating guests and closing the park's doors.
The park has 127 sites and 80 of those are annual site holders.
All of them are underwater, with the Murray River at Corowa peaking at 8.11 metres earlier this month — just below record levels.
"It's just devastating," Mr Dunstan said.
"Some of the annual annexes have fallen apart; they're floating. We just didn't expect it to get this high.
"Sometimes you walk down and you wonder how you're going to get it done."
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.
With no income since August and no financial assistance from governments, they are pleading for more to be done to support businesses along the flood-affected river.
'Businesses are open'
Further down the Murray, Campaspe Shire Council Mayor Rob Amos said businesses in Echuca and Moama were desperate for visitors.
He said that while businesses had reopened, the streets were empty.
"Business owners are paying their staff out of their own pockets to keep staff employed. There's no job keeper or anything," Cr Amos said.
He 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. We've got great golf courses, bowling clubs, art galleries, museums, great cafes, pubs, breweries and wineries," Cr Amos said.
But challenges remain, with a 2.5 kilometre man-made levee, sandbags and pumps still in place.
Cr Amos said while visitors to Echuca were welcome, people needed to be mindful that the threat of flooding was ongoing.
Richard Linke is the manager of Echuca cafe, The Nook, and said he had never seen the town's main street so empty.
"It's pretty barren for this time of year. There's nobody here," he said.
"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."
Mosquito boom poses health threat
Tourists were also being deterred by the sheer volume and size of mosquitoes appearing around flood waters, which brought an increased risk of mosquito-borne viruses such as Japanese encephalitis and Ross River.
Angler Robbie Alexander said it was the worst he had seen for a long time.
"It is a concern but don't let the mosquitoes scare you. Just take precautions," he said.
That is exactly what the Dunstans plan to do once water levels drop.
"We're hoping once the water goes we will look at spraying around the park to hopefully relieve a lot of that so when people do come back, they don't have to fight against the mozzies as well," Mrs Dunstan said.
Tourists have been urged to take precautions, such as regularly applying mosquito repellent and wearing long-sleeved clothing around the water.
Those eligible for the Japanese encephalitis vaccination were encouraged to book an appointment.
