A COUPLE temporarily residing in Lightning Ridge went above and beyond to support a friend in need this month and hope he and his family will be making a new start in the township.

Alex Mangarfico and Narelle Rains, who live out of their caravan and travel around the country, have been staying in Lightning Ridge over the past couple of months, however decided to personally lend a hand the day after the floods peaked in Lismore.

"We were watching the floods on the telly and knew our friend Brendan (Mason) and his family were actually in the middle of them," Mr Mangarfico said.

"Then the next day, we couldn’t get a hold of him, so we decided we couldn't stay quiet and grabbed a generator, a pressure cleaner and a couple of boxes of food from Food for Families and made our way up there to find them."

The two were also given a couple of boxes of food from charity Food for Families to take with them to families in need.

Leaving on Tuesday 1 March, Mr Mangarfico and Ms Rains eventually reached Lismore and made contact with Mr Mason, and his partner Sam Gooley who were both taking shelter with their son Koda at Ms Gooley's mother's home.

"The damage there was unbelievable - everywhere you looked was just wrecked or underwater - the little estate where they were was like an island," Mr Mangarfico said.

"We got there just after the flood waters receded and were there for around nine days. We had our pressure cleaner and generator and were lending it to people so they could charge their phones.

ABOVE: Arriving after the peak of the floods, Mr Mangarfico and Ms Rains saw firsthand the full extent of the damage caused by the floods. Image courtesy of Narelle Rains.

"Lots of people were also looking for rides - we were coming out for lifts everywhere, I've never seen anything like it.

"It wasn't much but we at least wanted to do something and it was when they all needed it the most."

For Mr Mason, who was also in town for the 2017 Lismore flood - which peaked at around 11.6 metres - said this one - which hit a record 14.37 metres - and the resulting damage was impossible to describe with words.

"A lot of news coverage has shown the damage but unless you’ve actually walked through the street, you can't actually understand what it is," Mr Mason said.

"I think we're lucky to be alive. One of my friends had to climb onto their attic to escape the water and they live in a three story building.

"There's just nothing left and insurance can only cover so much - I don't see a lot of people being able to rebuild."

Despite this, Mr Mason said he had nothing but gratitude and admiration for Mr Mangarfico and Ms Rains for their efforts to support Lismore.

"It was heart-warming really, to see them try to help out everyone was inspiring - also, to see the whole community pull together to clean up was unbelievable," he said.

As for Mr Mangarfico, he said they were only two of many other volunteers who travelled long distances to support the recovery, however, they were pleased to be there representing Lightning Ridge.

"We actually made a sticker and put on back of the ute saying 'Flood Volunteers from Lightning Ridge' - we thought if people could see that people were out there from other communities would help lift their spirits a bit," he said.

"I think it helped because we got a few honks, thumbs up and photos taken with the sticker. We can obviously only do what we can do, but I think we did something."

ABOVE: Sam Gooley, Koda Mason and Brendan Mason were very grateful for the support. Image courtesy of Narelle Rains.

When Mr Mangarfico and Ms Rains returned to Lightning Ridge early last week, Mr Mason actually came with them with the intent of finding a place to live and work and, hopefully, a new start for his family.

Mr Mason said Ms Gooley and their son had been staying in Lismore with her parents but they were planning to join him in Lightning Ridge this week.

"I'm an electrician by trade and I love fossicking through rock so I hope to look into finding some mining and electrical work," Mr Mason said.

"I must admit everyone been so welcoming out here - it's good to move to a new place and would like to thank Lightning Ridge for having us also."

Other people staying in the caravan park - which also gave the trio a week's free rent on their return from Lismore - set up a donations barbecue for Mr Mason last Friday (19 March). According to Ms Rains, the event raised about $200.

Glenda Partlett, Narelle Rains, Alex Mangarfico and Brendan Mason at the donations barbecue in Lightning Ridge last week. Image supplied.