Poor old Middle Head misses out again, for by the time this shot was taken, 52 seconds after the previous one, we had flown over it and were about 1.5km south west of it. However this is still part of the same protrusion of land which contains Middle Head.

The bay just below the pilot's microphone, the one where a number of wharves and jetties can be seen, is Chowder Bay which is part of the municipality of Mosman. The protrusion just beyond that is, naturally, Chowder Point, with the headland beyond that being Bradley's Head. That was named after a naval officer and cartographer of the First Fleet named William Bradley (1758 to 1833). Bradley contributed much to the understanding of the coastline as well as the aboriginal inhabitants, but unfortunately the future Rear Admiral Bradley suffered from increasing mental illness culminating in an attempt to defraud the postal authorities. Originally sentenced to death, this was later commuted to exile and he lived out his life in France. Bradley's Head is also the home of the mast of the original HMAS Sydney, a World War I light cruiser which won a notable victory against a German light cruiser (the SMS Emden) in November 1914.

On the other side of the harbour you will see Clark Island, a 0.9 ha island which is part of the Sydney Harbour National Park. The island is uninhabited, though facilities include picnic tables, toilets and drinking water. It's possible to have weddings on the island if you wish, but you have to arrange your own boats to get you there. The island was named after Lieutenant Ralph Clark, an officer of the First Fleet. He used it as his own vegetable garden, though because of the limited rations in the colony at the time the produce would be raided before he could get to eat any of it.

As you can doubtless see from the helicopter's compass, we are pointing due south here, so the Sydney CBD skyline is directly ahead in the photograph. Between us and the CBD there are 2 patches of greenery; the near one is Garden Island, which is the main Australian naval base, and the one on the other side of the cove is the Botanic Gardens. The eastern suburbs stretch out to the left.

As for what the pilot is pointing out to my co-passenger... well, unfortunately you're asking me about 16 1/2 years too late.