South Coast bushfires burn through holiday bookings

Holiday cottages at the Bawley Bush Retreat forty kilometres up the coast from Batemans Bay survived the fire but the infrastructure driving the sewage and water systems didn't - and that means cancellations.

"I've got to close our business for three months, maybe longer," said owner, Bill Powell.

Some businesses not directly hit by fire have still been affected.

The Big4 Nelligan Holiday Park just outside Batemans Bay was cut off by the closure of both the Kings and Princes Highways. Both reopened but the commercial damage remains.

"We're open but no one is coming," manager Todd Sutherland told The Canberra Times.

He only started as manager two weeks ago. "On the second day we had to evacuate, I was, like, 'what have I done'," he said.

The park was evacuated twice in the week. The smoke came and went with the wind changes.

It's now open until further notice. "We're playing it day by day," Mr Sutherland said.

With the big holiday season only weeks away, businesses which normally rely on customers from Canberra are feeling the pinch. Even those left undamaged have suffered a drop in trade.

In Batemans Bay, the president of the chamber of business and tourism, Alison Miers, said her Bay Breeze Boutique Motel was empty when it was usually 85 per cent full.

"I've never seen anything like it," she said. "Everything has been cancelled. I haven't got one booking."

But she and the the chamber of business wanted to get a message to Canberrans: "We are open for business. We are open for business for Christmas."

The damage to property and profits is patchy. It depends on the paths of the fires and the defences against them. Broadly, resorts in bush areas are more likely to be out of action than those near beaches.

The prestige equestrian centre, Willinga Park, owned by Canberra billionaire, Terry Snow, was not damaged even though it sits in thick bush near the the Bawley Bush Retreat which has had to close for at least three months.

The centre cost an estimated hundred million dollars to create and clearly a good chunk of that sum went into state-of-the-art fire defence, particularly to protect high value horses.

Local people said that the place was used as a refuge by those seeking safety from the fire.

But it's an ill wind. One business near Lilli Pilli got a call at four in the morning from two engineers who had been trying to get north but were cut off when the Kings Highway was closed.

The two tradies were desperate for somewhere to sleep so Chalet Swiss Spa took them in.

The owner of the retreat, Elizabeth Mayer, said she made scones for them.

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The property which features a Swiss-style chalet was not damaged by fire but bookings have still suffered (with the exception of the engineers).

Other guests have cancelled - though she is not unduly worried. "We've had two cancellations but it was the cheapest room," she said.

She had told a honeymoon couple that the smoke made their planned romantic stay unwise.

She refunded them the money and they told her later that they had succeeded in having their celebration at a safer, less smoky location.

"They won't forget us. They will come when the time is right," Mrs Mayer said.