A long-term local, Mrs Yowie grew-up in an era laden with horror stories of coast bound Canberrans "taking so-called short cuts down that dusty and corrugated goat track" to the coast known as the Nerriga Road.

However, for several years now, the Nerriga Road, rebranded as Main Road 92, has been sealed the entire way from Bungendore to Nowra, and with reports of bumper-to- bumper holiday traffic on Clyde Mountain, I've made a captain's call to road-test today on our annual pilgrimage to Jervis Bay.

However, with an onslaught of incessant naggings from Mrs Yowie, including "don't forget, we've got the kids' boogie board strapped on the roof and the bikes on the back," I'm starting to have second thoughts. Heck, even the kids are questioning their dad's judgement. "But what about my ice cream from the Boiled Lolly shop in Braidwood?" bemoans Sarah our nine year old daughter, quickly followed by Emily her six year sister, grumbling, "Oh, we will miss Pooh Corner!"

The first thing we notice about the Main Road 92 is the lack of traffic, and that's a good thing. While I wouldn't quite describe it in the same way as Mrs Yowie's emphatic "we've entered deliverance country", the drive through non-descript scrub and woodland for the first half hour isn't exactly an endearing one.

I eventually appease Sarah and Emily on the proviso they can watch a DVD in the back seat and the promise of an ice-cream at our half-way stop. However, as Mrs Yowie flicks furiously through maps on her iPhone, it's clear that winning her over isn't going to be as easy. "I hope there's somewhere soon to stop for a cup of tea!" she demands as we approach the new Oallen Ford Bridge.

Just over the bridge, there's a short track which leads down to the water. It's time for a break. While there's no tea here, unless you bring a billy and a tin of Bushells, it is however a great spot for mum and dad to stretch their legs, and for the kids to rock hop.

You can also see the wooden stumps of the old bridge and ford where pioneer bullock drays crossed.

A further 20 kilometres along the road is the Nerriga Hotel, one of our region's famous bush pubs. Perched on the edge of the wilds of Morton National Park, this historic pub was one of several which popped up in the mid-1800s to service dray drivers on the "Wool Road"', the forerunner to Main Road 92, which was hacked out of the bush by convicts in 1841 to transport wool from the southern tablelands to Jervis Bay for shipping.

More than a century and a half later, this drinking hole is booming again, this time due to thirsty travellers heading to and from the coast.

Inside, the 165-year- old baltic pine that was once the floorboards is now the main feature of a polished wooden bar, and black and white photos hang from the corrugated iron walls.

However, much more importantly for your Akubra-clad columnist, they also serve tea and there's a freezer chock full of ice creams. Phew!

While pouring me a refreshing softie (I am driving after all) publican Phillip Smith explains that since he bought the pub three years ago, there's been a steady increase in "the numbers of Y plates passing through".

"Many Canberrans only discover we are here when they are diverted along Main Road 92 due to an accident on the Kings Highway," explains Smith adding "however, once they realise the road exists they use it on future trips."

Any lingering concerns Mrs Yowie has that the pub isn't suitable for our two young kids are put to rest when we discover the beer garden. There's a generous grassy area for playing "tips" and a giant blackboard where the kids leave messages to other families between licks on their ice creams.

Before we hop back into the yowie mobile, we wander across the road from the pub where a giant Ned Kelly sculpture is bolted atop a tree stump. For little Emily, Ned isn't quite as cuddly as the bears at Pooh Corner, but she delights in a selfie — an obvious sign of approval from today's younger generation.

About 20 minutes' drive beyond the pub is Sassafras. Although it was nominated as a site for the Federal capital in 1900, the village steadily declined after vehicles replaced bullock teams, and today it's little more than blink and you'll miss type place.

In his insightful historical tome Sassafras: The Parish of Sixty Farms (self-published, 2013) Canberra author Robert Snedden reveals the unfortunate reason Sassafras was culled from the list of contenders for national capital. According to Snedden, during the all-important site inspection, "instead of proceeding to the advocated site", the decision-makers were "unfortunately taken to another site … where only a few hundred acres of level land existed". To make matters worse, "at a critical time a downpour occurred which added to the fiasco," divulges Snedden who concludes that, "after a brief conference the party returned home and any chance Sassafras had of becoming the national capital was gone forever."

Thankfully for us there's no similar deluge and it's in a cloud of dust that just beyond Sassafras the yowie mobile pulls up alongside arguably the highlight of Main Road 92 - the majestic Tianjara Falls.

Although our eyes are first drawn to the Tianjara Creek as it plunges vertically 60 metres into a rainforest–festooned gorge below, the view west over the Ettrema wilderness is just as captivating. Unlike rest stops on busier routes to the coast where the relentless throb of passing traffic can be overwhelming, here the only sounds we notice are the calls of eastern spinebills and New Holland honeyeaters as the flit about searching for sweet nectar.

Just eight kilometres further towards the coast is Jarrawangala Lookout. Having just convinced the kids to have a break from their back seat movie, it's tempting to push on and give this short diversion a miss. However, that would have been a big mistake, for this lookout boasts a vista to rival any other in the state.

After a short 30 metre stroll along a raised walkway we reach a cantilevered platform from where the view is so expansive it feels like you can see into the future. Well, OK, maybe not that far but at least as far as Gerringong in the north and to Ulladulla in the south. A truly uplifting experience. According to local lore, Aboriginal people used this vantage spot to send messages to others trekking in the labyrinth of deeply channelled gorges and bunyip-laden swamps spread out below.

We could easily sit for hours and watch wedge-tailed eagles and peregrine falcons soaring high above the cliff top, but our salt water therapy (and the girls' movie) calls. From the lookout it's an easy 30-40 minutes down the escarpment (no hairpin bends here) to Nowra and the celebrated beaches of Jervis Bay.

With not one single traffic snarl to negotiate and with lots to see and do along the way, "dad's short cut" gets the thumbs up from the entire Yowie mob; yes even Mrs Yowie.

Discover Main Road 92 before the rest of Canberra does.

Main Road 92: A fully sealed alternative route from Canberra to Nowra. As the road traverses a number of local government areas, the route isn't signposted as best as it could be. It appears on most GPS systems, but take a map just in case. From Canberra to Jervis Bay the 190km journey via Bungendore, Tarago and Nerriga takes about 2.5 hours (stops extra) — that's about 30 minutes quicker than driving via the Hume and Illawarra Highways and an hour quicker than via Batemans Bay.

Nerriga Hotel: Open from 10am daily, with hearty lunches served noon – 3pm daily, and traditional pub grub dished up Friday to Sunday from 6pm – 8pm. Ph: 02 4845 9120.

Tim's Tip: If you are travelling along Main Road 92 in autumn, stop in at the Sassafras Nuthouse where you can pick your very own stash of chestnuts. Yum! Call ahead for opening times and prices, Ph: 02 44232248 or www.sassafrasnuts.com.au

Coastal lookouts: From Mount Keira in the north to Pipers in the south, our south coast escarpment is blessed with some spectacular lookouts. What's your favourite? Do any compare with Jarrawangala? Let me know at the address at the end of the column.

WHERE IN CANBERRA?

Degree of difficulty: Super hard

Last week: Congratulations to Katy Skinner, of Weetangera, who was first to correctly identify last week's photo, sent in by Paul Haverfield, of Duffy, as "the old Belconnen Sewage Treatment Works", which according to Haverfield "although decommissioned in 1979 are still clearly marked on Google Maps."

A number of observant readers, including John Standen, of Goulburn, spotted an out of place ACTION bus in the photo. "We hoped that derelict bus could start up and drive us home," confesses Skinner, who recently stumbled on the bus during a bushwalk along the lower Molonglo Valley with friends.

The old treatment works are located just downstream of the controversial new Butters Bridge about which this column continues to receive a barrage of negative sentiments from readers regarding its claustrophobic design which frustratingly impedes views of the river valley.

How to enter: Email your guess along with your name and address to timtheyowieman@bigpond.com. The first email sent after 10am, Saturday December 3, 2016, with the correct answer wins a double pass to Dendy cinemas.

CONTACT TIM: Email: timtheyowieman@bigpond.com or Twitter: @TimYowie or write c/- The Canberra Times, 9 Pirie Steet, Fyshwick. You can see a selection of past columns here.