Aided by an extension ladder that spanned the width of her backyard pool and one of her son's oldest surfboards, Dowrick jumped into her makeshift boat and started paddling.

She knows it's the closest she's going to get to the real thing for at least the next few months.

"Because you're stationary there's a lot of resistance so you can't go for too long, but at least you don't have to be mindful of the bull sharks like you do in the river," she said.

"There are not too many dolphins around my pool either which is disappointing so I have to create that sight."

With self-isolation and social distancing rules in place across Australia courtesy of the COVID-19 pandemic, it might be a while before sport returns to any sort of normality.

So you have to think a little outside the square.

"Paddling has its own technique so if you stop that I thought it might have taken me too far backwards and I might have had to start all over again," she said.

"The club is a great club and I've fallen in love with the sport; being on the river, out in nature and keeping fit is very attractive."

She never thought the video would gain her as much attention as it has.

"I saw a post from Vancouver Dragon Boat Club that had a similar watercraft and I thought 'I've got a pool and I can build something similar to that'," she said.

"I enjoy a bit of a laugh and having a bit of fun."

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