"What happened to us, it is minuscule compared to people out of their houses, those that don't know if and when they can go home."
Those were the words of Paradise Valley Springs owner Stuart Hamlett on Friday.
The wildlife park with trout pools, a treetop boardwalk, native animals, birdlife, and lions has been closed all week.
Director Jo Sanders said staff were in the middle of putting the lions into their den on Sunday when one of the males, Xander, began to play in the water.
"He was leaping around like a child, backwards and forwards, jumping around."
Image 1 of 61: Flooding in Rotorua. Cormac Davis, 12, . Moncur Dr. Photo/Ben Fraser
She said the flood water went through a large part of the enclosure but it was "100 per cent safe".
The 12 staff have spent the past week clearing debris and silt.
Their family members and friends have even joined in.
"The community support has been fantastic. We have had neighbours turning up and helping out, leaving messages asking if we are okay. We even had one from the SPCA," Hamlett said.
He said his staff have been coming in on days off and were going the extra mile right from when they were sandbagging the buildings.
"We expect to be open again next week sometime."
Meanwhile, down the road in Oakdale Place, John Healey was spending the fifth day in a row cleaning up his soaked home on Friday.
"There is nothing we can do about it. There is no use sulking. We cannot push the water back again, we have got to get on with life."
He and his wife have lived there for nine years and evacuated on Sunday night in knee-deep water.
Healey returned the next morning to find the leftover waterline up to his elbows.
On Friday he said he was "getting on all right" as he leaned against his front door, labelled with an "insanitary building" notice.
"We are running a bit behind. We have priced the major items we have lost and it looks like our contents insurance will cover everything. I can breathe. The only problem is getting skips and storage."
The couple has spent the week getting their carpets up, moving furniture and separating clothes to be laundered.
"We have been told we will be out for six months. We need a new kitchen, a new bathroom, just a complete rebuild internally."
Healey said they were not dwelling on the day of the flood anymore, "we are the kind of people who just get on with it".
"We have had two major disasters in our life. We lost a lot of money in China in business, then someone ran off with our retirement savings. We have got one thing though, it's health."
He said they had had "a lot of help" and they were very thankful.
"The problem is there is just so much to do. One of the hardest things is we are pushing it a bit. We aren't young and fast anymore."
The Rotorua Lakes Council said on Friday it was hoping to finish door-knocking residents needing inspections in "the next couple of days".
Council acting Civil Defence controller Bruce Horne said that by Thursday night council staff had finished the homes around Western Rd.
He said council had started planning the extended recovery phase, but he had "no idea" what the costs would be at this stage.
Horne said one of the main frustrations this week had been availability of skips, and the council was helping insurers speed up the process.
Police have said he was evading arrest, but a family member disputed that.
