My ride in Dick Smith's helicopter was a thrill, a wonderful privilege and an unforgettable experience. I'm pleased that I can here pay tribute to Dick's wonderful generosity, and at the same time try to share a little of just how fantastic this flight was.

It all began with Dick wheeling out the helicopter (an Italian Agusta A109E) and filling it up with kerosene.

And we were off! Here we are, heading towards the Harbour.

The Opera House, as few people ever get to see it...

Views inside the cockpit. At the top centre of the instrument panel is a colour screen. Dick showed us that he can use this to view six different displays of flight and navigational  information. Well, actually, that's not quite true. The first five channels were for important technical information. The sixth channel brought up a recording of some dancing girls performing the can-can. Well, as he pointed out, you've got to have dancing girls, haven't you?

The city Harbour itself, and Taronga Zoo from the air. It can be seen that Taronga Zoo was, at the time, essentially an excavation and building site. This became even clearer to me when I actually visited the Zoo a few days later (see Part 5).

The beaches, with Bondi Beach at the top.