Regional Victorians fearing they would have to quarantine were among those who fled NSW border towns on December 31.
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Lake Mulwala Fish Camp and Ski owner Vanessa Bennett said the lack of warning and information from the Victorian government prompted chaotic scenes and lines of cars stretching for kilometres.
"A couple of locals were in here and we were watching the news, and we all started swearing at the TV," she said.
"They [people from Bendigo] didn't know [they could stay], because last time it wasn't in the bubble.
"It was like a Zombie Apocalypse."
One customer told of an accommodation provider in Deniliquin that lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in bookings - losses replicated right along the border.
Mrs Bennett said patronage had just picked up from the NSW border closure and was even better than a regular Christmas.
"The cod season was still closed, we did still have a small cod classic, but it was good," she said.
"I was counting the number of people coming in the shop, going 'Please, don't come in yet' ... that's how busy it was.
"The Christmas/New Year felt normal again and then it just stopped.
"Now, it's like a winter weekday."
Information shared by Ovens Valley MP Tim McCurdy advised the Murray River was still accessible to people on either side.
"Cross border people from cross border communities can now travel in the same boat.
"However a Victorian cannot travel in the same boat as person from Sydney or from outside of the bubble."
Mrs Bennett said the impact was the same as the NSW closure, with no Melburnians able to cross the lake.
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"I'd just like to ask the question, 'Why can we travel to Melbourne but they can't travel to our border region, which has no cases?'," she said.
"We rely on people from Melbourne, we rely on the river.
"I don't think they get what it does to the people on the borders.
"For us to suffer every time and pay heavily for the two major cities, it's just not on."