Campers heading to national parks along the Murray and Murrumbidgee Rivers are being advised to check for flood closure alerts before leaving home this holiday season.
Encouraged by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), its Riverina Area Manager, Robin Mares said above-average rainfall had been predicted in the Riverina area which could see flooding close more campsites along the rivers.
“The rivers, creeks and the water storages are full, so all of the rivers continue to have low to moderate flooding events when more rain falls in the catchments,” Mr Mares said.
“A number of campsites along the rivers have been closed due to flooding and more predicted rainfall could make a significant number of campsites inaccessible,” he said.
“Some may open and close due to flooding in the lead up to and after Christmas.”
Mr Mares said it was difficult to predict the impact on campsite availability over the weeks around Christmas, but the NPWS team was reasonably sure that the number of available campsites would be much lower than usual.
“We’ve received hundreds of bookings and enquiries from visitors wishing to camp along the Riverina river systems of the Murray, Murrumbidgee and Lachlan Rivers over Christmas and New Year,” he said.
“The Christmas holidays are a peak visitor period along the rivers for campers with hundreds of people staying along the river frontages.”
He said NPWS would contact visitors that had booked to keep them up to date with any changes, but recommended people keep potential flooding in mind when planning their camping holiday.
Mr Mares said campers should check the NPWS website for the latest details and ensure they booked a campsite before arriving.
NPWS national park alerts can be accessed at this PS News link.
