11 Feb 2012 to 12 Feb 2012 – Mountain View Caravan Park, Shoalhaven Heads, NSW

OK – so we’ve only moved about 20km down the road BUT, the plan was to avoid the weekend ski boat noise and crowds back at the Ski Park.  As a plan it had some good features.  However, execution was a little more problematic!!!!!!
The particular site we were given, with no other choices, was possibly the noisiest caravan park site we’ve ever stayed in.  It’s on the corner of a main road, and the Shoalhaven Heads Road – AND WE WERE PLACED RIGHT IN THAT CORNER.  We heard every screech of brakes and tyres, every engine rev, and even some shouted abuse (not ours although that did happen) which was entertaining.  Never again.
Fortunately, we were out of the park for most of Sunday, visiting Mick.  Rick and Mick (no – not rhyming slang) first met in 1966 when both were serving aboard HMAS Curlew during the Indonesian Confrontation.  Although Mick is a couple of years older than Rick, they became good friends.  Mick was also a South Australian, so they had a lot in common.  We lost contact with Mick and his wife Hagan in about 1974 when they took off for WA looking for work, and didn’t regain contact until about 2009 when Rick noticed Mick’s name in an ex-service organisation magazine.  Unfortunately, Hagan had passed away late the year before and Mick was alone and living in Moss Vale, NSW (near Bowral).
Rick phoned Mick several times over the couple of years before we headed south towards Mildura in 2011, and we were able to call in and visit with Mick on that trip.
This time, we were able to leave the van in Shoalhaven Heads, and drive up to Moss Vale to spend the day with Mick and have lunch with him.  It was a lovely day, and the two guys got on really well again.  It was almost like there had never been a break in communication.  Like Rick, Mick has buried a lot of his memories about his naval service.  He and Hagan were very happy together, running businesses and travelling – particularly in Western Australia.  Hagan was a fantastic cook and had a great head for business, so they were able to live quite comfortably and were absolutely inseparable.  Understandably, Mick is now lost without her, but he continues to be healthy and in reasonable spirits most of the time.  Rick still checks on him regularly by phone.