For Stawell caravan park owner Marianne Braam, COVID-19 restrictions have hit her business hard, but she's looking on the bright side.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Her caravan park, Stawell Grampians Gate, was emptied of tourists earlier in the week when the threat of closed state borders and instructions to return - and stay - at home were made clear by governments across the country.
Caravan parks and camping grounds are among the latest sectors to face restrictions, after Victoria's chief health officer Brett Sutton barred new visitors from midnight on Wednesday.
Exceptions are made for people who already have the caravan park registered as their primary place of residence, and for people staying in caravan parks as interim accommodation where their primary residence is not available, or essential workers.
The exceptions allow for about 10 residents at Grampians Gate Caravan Park to stay on, plus a handful of gold mine employees and grey nomads.
More coronavirus coverage:
At Easter, the park normally accepts about 300 check-ins - about 700 people.
"The bottom line is: everyone's supposed to stay at home, and we're no different," Ms Braam said.
"It's ghostly, but what should I do, sit in the corner and cry? Everything's got a silver lining and you've just got to find it.
"Our house is attached to the office. I can't normally walk around in my dressing gown all day, so I'm quite looking forward to being able to holiday at home."
At Horsham Riverside Caravan Park, manager Sue Jones said caravan parks were simply no different to any other industry.
"I think everyone's getting hit really hard. No one's different with all that's been going on," she said.
Riverside is still accommodating several full-time residents, including doctors working at the medical centre.
Ms Jones said she had been busy administering cancellations.
"At the moment, it's horrible really, because we're always so busy. It's overwhelming," she said.
"When the phone rings you wonder if it's going to be another cancellation, but most people have been fantastic. People want to come back, and they're happy to return later when it all settles down and is back to normal."
While you're with us, you can now receive updates straight to your inbox each Friday morning from the Stawell Times-News. To make sure you're up-to-date with all the news from across the Northern Grampians shire, sign up here.