Visiting Sally Mynhardt's home at Lake Windemere Caravan Park, the ground surrounding the converted caravan is sodden.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Sandbags are arrayed around the entrance and luckily, no water has made it inside so far.
In clear weather, Ms Mynhardt has got the pick of the locations at the Warilla holiday park with her absolute water frontage off Third Avenue.
However, with the heavy and consistent rain over the past week those water views have become a hazard.
Lake Windemere is one of six low-lying caravan parks around Lake Illawarra that were the subject of an SES flood warning early on Thursday morning.
Located behind Warilla Beach and fronting onto Little Lake, Lake Windemere Caravan Park is particularly at risk of wave surges and high tides.
Underneath Ms Mynhardt's caravan the water rose to about 20cm above ground level overnight due to the waves and tides amid relentless rain. Rather than sleeping in her bedroom, which, being elevated, had water rushing underneath, Ms Mynhardt chose to sleep on her lounge which is on more solid ground.
By morning, the water had receded but Ms Mynhardt barely got any sleep.
"I was up a lot during the night listening to the radio," she said. "I got up several times at night with a torch and I just checked the tide."
At high tide, a large wave could wash water over the bank separating the caravan park from the creek, inundating already soaked ground.
Ms Mynhardt, a former nurse, had prepared herself to evacuate if need be.
"I'm going to stay here, vigilantly, and if the tide does come up over the bank, then I've got my van parked at the top," she said.
"I've got the things I need in a little bag and I'll just pick it up and get in my van."
On the other side of Windang Bridge, at Jettys By The Lake, Kay Pickett was also preparing her valuables to go and stay with her sister in Barrack Heights.
Ms Pickett's residence is elevated off the ground, but share remembers a previous flood where water came up underneath her home.
Marshalls at the caravan park had told Ms Pickett that she needed to move her belongings to higher ground and would return if they needed to leave.
"We're preparing to get everything out, the important papers, just in case," she said.
"I'll just monitor everything, keep an eye on everything and see what's happening," said Ms Pickett. "I'm just hoping it doesn't come in my house or anyone else's."
Just before 4pm on Thursday, the SES issued an all clear for the caravan parks.
To read more stories, download the Illawarra Mercury news app in the Apple Store or Google Play.
Sign up for breaking news emails below ...
