Aug 20. Sharks Teeth And A Stuffed Croc.

A car came to whisk me off to Channel 9 TV, where I did an interview with a TV journo called Tracy Grimshaw. I wasn't on my best form, but nonetheless it went fairly well.

In the afternoon I wandered around Darling harbour, which came to be one of my favourite parts of Sydney, and was then joined by Richard Saunders for a hugely enjoyable visit to Sydney's famous aquarium. I was able to get lots of good photos, some of which are here.

In the evening I enjoyed a Thai meal with Richard, his wife Catherine (below left) plus Alynda Brown and Richard's brother Geoff (right).

Good company indeed, and the meal itself was fine. That having been said, they didn't have coconut rice - the food stuff of the gods. I could probably eat Thai food all day and all night, but it has to involve coconut rice or else it just isn't a Thai restaurant! As an added bonus, just a little way down from the restaurant was a completely bizarre shop, whose window and contents defied all comprehension. The stuffed crocodile was just the start. See for yourself here.

Aug 21. Meeting The Incredible Dick Smith.

The main business of the day was lunch with the one and only Dick Smith. I've said before in these pages that I enjoy meeting interesting people, and they don't come much more interesting than Dick Smith. Here's just a brief summary:

• 1968 Founded Dick Smith Electronics (a national chain) which he sold in 1982, and is still going strong
• 1983 First solo helicopter flight around the world
• 1986 Founder publisher of Australian Geographic
• 1986 Voted Australian Of The Year
• 1987 First helicopter flight to the North Pole
• 1989 First person to fly around the world via the poles
• 1993 First non-stop balloon crossing of the Australian Continent
• 1999 Founded Dick Smith foods

You can find out more about Dick at various sites all over the web, for example here:

http://www.dicksmithfoods.com.au/dsf/index.php?d=main&p=bio

In the company of Richard Saunders and Barry Williams, I went to Dick's private estate and enjoyed meeting this fascinating man, hearing about his latest projects and even getting a sneak preview of his 'Solar Dog' (a new one-man solar-powered vehicle he has designed for arctic terrain). Dick then took myself, Richard and Barry for a flight around the Harbour in his own private helicopter. This was an incredible experience, and the views were nothing short of spectacular.

Obviously, I took pictures every step of the way, and you can see a selection of them here. After the flight, we went for a very enjoyable lunch and, since Dick is a magic fan, I performed a little close-up show for him.

> > > Continued in Part 4

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