"I was coming back from Maitland the back way. As I came through Sawyers Gully, this great big crane came around the roundabout. I thought, 'He's not going to make it - he can't possibly'," Col said.

"But he did. It was perfect. You should have seen it."

The crane had just returned from a job at a mine up the valley. Apparently it can lift 300 tonne and reach more than 100 metres high.

Col has long assessed the state of the economy by the condition of tradies' utes.

That is, if there are loads of flash new utes around, he reckons the economy must be going gangbusters.

Now, though, he wonders whether he should be assessing the state of the economy by the size of cranes.

Then again, isn't the economy supposed to be in the toilet? Well, yes. But then, someone still needs to dig up the coal to keep the lights on, don't they?

And someone still needs to drive these massive cranes. And we hear what Col is saying about getting one of these beasts around a roundabout. There must be an art to it.

Rod Marshdale has a nickname for the Westpac Helicopter Rescue Service - Aslan.

Aslan is a lion and a major character in The Chronicles of Narnia that "sweeps in and saves the day when needed".

On Thursday, Rod returned to the helicopter landing site at John Hunter Hospital six years to the day since the chopper saved his life.

Rod, who had cystic fibrosis, was close to death when he was flown from Taree to John Hunter.

Returning to the site was "a bit of a healing thing to be honest".

"I felt a lot of gratitude towards the chopper," Rod said.

He's hoping that one of the rescue service choppers will one day be called Aslan.

Fifteen months after the chopper saved him, he had a double lung transplant.

Since then, he worked hard on his fitness and achieved remarkable things. He swam at the Australian Transplant Games in Sydney in 2016 and the World Transplant Games in Spain in 2017. He completed an Olympic-distance triathlon in 2018, an ultimate-distance triathlon in March, a half marathon in June and a marathon in July.

Rod loves helping others with cystic fibrosis, like 20-year-old Tyla Orr. He inspired her to exercise. Six months later, she completed a half marathon.

Rod relishes the opportunity to give back, which he does with the help of a sponsor named Kari Armitage.

"Richard Jones, who's CEO of the helicopter service, has also been pivotal in my journey. I want to get Jonesy to do a triathlon with me," he joked.

Kari and Richard helped Rod get an air purifier for Tyla, who was struggling with her breathing with the recent smoke pollution.

Warms our heart, that.