Tim the Yowie Man on Australia's largest stick insect, spotted in Canberra

Professional photographers Glenn Bonser and Dennie Quintal report that their favourite arch is also an example of simulacra (faces and forms in nature), aptly-named Horse Head Rock near Bermagui.

"It's not a location you want to try to reach without some knowledge of whether the tides are coming or going," report the husband and wife team, who add that it "is one of the most popular spots to shoot along the entire Sapphire Coast with photographers from overseas making trips out here just to capture it." Really!

Also near the top of the serial snappers' list of arches is Old Man Rock, near Pambula. "This rock formation looks like it's sporting a cheeky grin can be seen from the popular bushwalk between Bar Mouth Beach and Haycock Point," reveals Quintal, adding "it's a mad scramble down to water level from the track but well and truly worth it."

Meanwhile, this column's bushwalking go-to man, the sprightly Pastor John Evans has submitted a photo of Corang Arch, a spectacular sandstone rock arch in remote patch of the central Budawangs. You can find out more on Evans' escapades to the natural bridge by visiting his bushwalking blog, which is surely one of the most extensive of its kind covering a single region in Australia. I know that's a big claim, but if you haven't checked it out, do so at johnevans.id.au.You might also get some ideas to explore the outdoors before winter sets in.

Fact File

Horse Head Rock: Drive to the Camel Rock Surf Beach carpark 5km north of Bermagui and then walk north along the beach for about 750m. Once you reach the pebbly beach you can't miss it. Best accessed at low tide. The walk involves some serious rock scrambling so a moderate level of fitness required. If you aren't comfortable beachcombing by yourself, Glenn and Dennie also offer private photography tours of the south coast, including to Horse Head Rock. More: deegeesphotography.com

Did You Know? Horse Head Rock is also visible from the headland walk from Camel Rock Surf Beach carpark to Wallaga Lake.

Corang Arch: Can be accessed as part of a long day walk, or alternatively, as an overnight walk, camping near Canowie or Burrumbeet Brook. Much of the walk is through the Budawangs Wilderness, with no signs or marked tracks so this is for experienced walkers only. More information is on Johnny Boy's Walkabout Blog: johnevans.id.au.

SPOTTED

Phantastic Phasmid

Hot on the heels of this column's exposé on one of Australia's smallest butterflies (Spotted, April 2, canberratimes.com.au/act-news/canberra-life/tim-the-yowie-man-goes-back-to-the-gundaroo-pub-20160329-gnsudb.html) comes the first sighting in the ACT of Australia's largest phasmid, the aptly named the Titan stick insect (Acrophylla titan).

"This female fell from a snow gum onto the hat of a fellow walker while recently botanising below Mt Ginini in the Brindabellas," reports entomologist Roger Farrow of Urila.

"She was placed on a tree to photograph but being well camouflaged does not stand out as well as on the hat," says Farrow, who adds, "she was about 18cm long, but specimens reaching 26cm are known."

According to Farrow, "the discovery of such insects is a chance event and not one resulting from a specific search," adding, "this is because stick insects spend their entire lives in the canopy of host trees and are rarely seen at eye level."

"The species has been rarely recorded from the inland and most records come from the coast especially in well-treed Sydney and Brisbane suburbs," reports Farrow, who admits that while "it's not as attractive as the butterfly" which recently adorned these pages, "it's unique, as she represents the first record from the ACT."

Don't miss: Roger Farrow's Insects of South-eastern Australia, an ecological and behavioural guide (CSIRO Publishing, May 2016) will be officially launched by Geoffrey Robertson, conservationist, and former President of ACT Conservation Council and Friends of Grasslands on Friday 13 May, 11.00 am to 12.30pm at the Australian National Botanic Gardens theatrette. All welcome, yes, even stick insects!

MAILBAG

Giant Fish

Recent deliberations in this column about how plentiful fish were in the Goodradigbee River mid-last century prompted a number of readers to boast about their own piscatorial prowess in the trout-laden river.

Margitta Acker of Curtin has submitted a black and white photo, taken in the early 1970s, of her husband and their two boys "holding a total of four trout (the older boy has one in each hand), all caught one day in the Goodradigbee at Flea Creek – a beautiful and remote spot just to the west of the ACT border."

Acker recalls the family fishing trip as if it were only yesterday. "It rained one night and in the morning the air was full of the fragrance of eucalypt – like cough lollies," she says, adding, "I'll never forget it."

In fact, the fishing trip was so memorable that it features in a stand-alone chapter in Acker's Meat Pies and Mumbling Blokes – A Canberra Memoir (Ginninderra Press, 2013).

BEST WEEKEND

Spear Tree

While recently fossicking around the slopes of Mt Ainslie, good friend of these pages, Matthew Higgins stumbled upon this unusual phenomenon. Higgins, a keen bushwalker speculates that "a branch fell into (or was placed in) the fork of the tree and the tree has grown around the stick," adding, "it appears to have been there for quite some years."

Still on amazing trees, don't forget as recently previewed in this column ("Into Our Secret Forest", April 9, canberratimes.com.au/act-news/canberra-life/tim-the-yowie-man-investigates-the-hidden-forests-of-the-national-arboretum-canberra-20160404-gnxjeh.html) the National Arboretum Canberra is swinging it's locked gates to the forests normally off-limits to public vehicles today (Saturday, April 23). Guides will be on-hand to provide free tours and information, including the stories behind the forest patterns and the ANU Research Forests. Alternatively, just take a wander through the autumn colours. Phone 02 6207 8484.

CONTACT TIM: Email: timtheyowieman@bigpond.com or Twitter: @TimYowie or write c/- The Canberra Times, 9 Pirie St, Fyshwick. You can see a selection of past columns at: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/by/Tim-the-Yowie-Man-hvf8o

WHERE IN CANBERRA?

Cryptic Clue: Australia's Queen of Song.

Degree of difficulty: Medium

Last week: Congratulations to Tony McLeod of Harrison who was first to correctly identify last week's photo (inset), taken by Woo O'Reilly of Giralang as the old rail bridge (the rail line closed in 1989) at the south side of Michelago, over Micalago Road (yes, the road and village are spelt differently). "The turn off on the Monaro Highway is about 15 km on from the ACT border and the old rail bridge is about 700 metres east of the highway," adds McLeod, obviously one to pay close attention to detail.

The victorious McLeod just beat a barrage of other correct entrants, including Geoff Wardrobe of Gordon, Nikolas Lutz of Tuggeranong and Paul Tompkins of Calwell, to the coveted prize.

Meanwhile, the image of the Tinderry Mountains framed by the railway bridge brought back a flood of childhood memories for Kate Venables of Fisher whose "dear old dad had a farm at the foot of those mountains". Further, Venables remembers "catching the train to Cooma from Jindabyne late one evening in 1977 to go on a school excursion at the Jindabyne Recreational Camp."

How to enter: Email your guess along with your name and address to timtheyowieman@bigpond.com. The first email sent after 10am, Saturday, April 23, 2016 with the correct answer wins a double pass to Dendy cinemas.