APEX Park has again been transformed into a lake, and guests were this morning departing the adjoining Painters Island Caravan Park as flood waters from the Ovens River steadied at 12.26 metres, after dropping from 12.27 metres at 6.15am.
The Bureau of Meteorology said the minor flooding is expected to peak near 12.30 metres early Monday afternoon, and the Ovens River level will remain above the minor flood level (11.90 m) during Monday.
It was a long night for Painters Island Caravan Park managers Jaclyn Guerin and partner Peter Graham, keeping an eye on flood waters slowly moving into Apex Park and snaking their way around the rear of the park, via a lagoon, before entering its lower reaches and lapping at foundations of raised cabins.
"We had moved the handful of guests to the front of the park yesterday and they are all leaving this morning," Ms Guerin said.
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"We are also taking cancellations...we had seven cabins booked for essential workers today but they've cancelled."
Ms Guerin said the statewide lockdown had ensured there were few people in the park.
"For now it's a case of wait and see," she said, noting that while much of the park was in flood water, it hadn't inundated any of the cabins.
"More rain is forecast this week so we'll just have to see how quickly the water recedes, and what further rainfall we get."
Ms Guerin and Mr Graham took over management of the caravan park seven to eight weeks ago, but as 'locals' they were aware of the likelihood of flooding in the park.
"We're not overly stressed, you prepare for it and manage it," Ms Guerin said.
"It's a beautiful caravan park and worth coming back to.
"We had been managing a caravan park near Batemans Bay on the south coast of NSW.
"It flooded a couple of times last year and then the the summer of 2019/20 we had the bushfires there.
"We had to evacuate the park three to four times over the 74 days fires were in the area, including evacuating 300 people from the park on New Year's Eve."
At Apex Park this morning, floodwaters were lapping at the chin of Huckleberry Hound (affectionately known as Yogi Bear) and the site of the former playground.
Ducks were swimming where a day earlier families had been walking their dogs and cycling on paths.
