Confident that the wollemi thriving in her parents' Fisher garden would be a genuine contender for top gong, Alison Jones even sent her children, William and Claire, on a mission up the ladder. "Measuring it was no easy task," reports Jones whose kids estimate their wollemi is "around 2.9 metres tall".

However, the gallant efforts of the Jones' clan proved to be vain, for Robyn and Gus of Macquarie secured bragging rights as proud owners of one of Canberra's tallest wollemis and the biggest in my readers' "contest", with their impressive nine-year-old specimen, nicknamed "Wally", topping out at just over four metres.

"Wally has had four different pots in his life and we hope this is the last one," report the jubilant duo who were hesitant to reveal their secret to success. More forthcoming with tips on growing the iconic trees were Cid Riley of Tarago who regularly feeds his "worm juice" and Gwenda and Richard Bramley of Torrens who attribute the health of their 2½-metre specimen to its location, taking pride of place in the chook pen. "Chook manure has obviously contributed to its growth, but perhaps it has also done well because buried around its base are several deceased chooks," reveal the Bramleys.

For the record, the victorious "Wally" outgrew a number of other potted pines in the three to four-metre range including second-place winner, Christine Rees of Mawson who submitted a photo of her healthy-looking 3.6-metre specimen.

Special commendation to Elizabeth Compston, who says that while her wollemi is unlikely to be Canberra's tallest, "at 1½ metres across, it may be the widest". Compston says she deliberately "left two trunks so that it would not be just tall and skinny".

While it's normal for this column to receive a steady stream of animal-inspired simulacra (faces and forms in nature), recently there's been a spike in the number of readers "seeing elephants roaming our landscape".

Firstly, Julie Macklin spotted the head and trunk of an elephant camouflaged in the bark of a scribbly gum beside the Edwin Land Parkway in Queanbeyan (I love the eye). This was closely followed by Liz Stergiou who caught a glimpse of a snuffaluffagus-styled specimen scooping up sand at Potato Point on the south coast, and the Barb Mitchell of Ngunnawal who came face-to-face with a big-eared "Dumbo" while on holidays at Launceston's Cataract Gorge. Even further afield, on a recent trip to the west, Martin Kenseley of Rivett was stunned to stumble upon a herd of elephants resting on a beach in Western Australia.

Which is your favourite? I still think it's hard to beat the "baby" elephant climbing onto its mother's back on the lower slopes of Mt Majura.

Big hole

Meanwhile, still on trees, Nichole Overall of Queanbeyan has been trying to solve the case of the marked gum which once overlooked the Big Hole (Big hole bonanza, May 30, 2015). My Queanbeyan sleuth uncovered a dusty article from this very newspaper dated December 7, 1965, in which celebrated columnist Peter Luck chronicled the day he was lowered, "teeth chattering", into the "50-yard wide abyss".

Although Luck bravely focuses on his journey to the bottom of the hole via "a large pulley, bosun's chair and a windlass", he poignantly points out that "on a tree at the rim of the hole, partly hidden under bark, are carved some names, a cross and '1884'. Legend says a girl was once thrown into the hole but local residents know nothing more." Perhaps the initials are of the poor girl? Luck's expose includes a photograph, unfortunately not of sufficient quality to reproduce here, of Jim Cross, who accompanied Luck on his expedition, inspecting the marked tree.

The article confirms the tree was still standing in 1965, and given a search earlier this year failed to find any sign of the tree, one can only deduce that it must have collapsed or been destroyed by fire.

With today's children exposed to increasing amounts of indoor "screen-time", this column is proud to announce that it's an "official activator" in the 2015 Active Kids Challenge. Run by the Physical Activity Foundation, the eight-week initiative, which starts on July 27, aims to educate and inspire kids to get at least of 60 minutes of activity every day to stay healthy. Physical activity doesn't need to be organised sport. It can also be exploring, discovering and playing in your neighbourhood, just like many of us did before the advent of video games and iPads. Yes, even climbing on this tree counts! More:paf.org.au

Tim's tip: You can double your recommended 60 minutes of physical activity tomorrow afternoon (2pm-4pm, July 26) by joining a walk on the lower slopes of Mt Majura to celebrate National Tree Day. Led by ecologist Michael Doherty, the gentle and informative tree walk is suitable for all ages. Meet at the nature park entrance, Helms Place close to Rivett and Richards streets intersection in Hackett. Wear sturdy shoes and bring drinking water. Enquiries: phone 6248 8955.

Last week: Congratulations to Ben Hobson of Campbell who was first to correctly identify last week's photo, sent in by Debbie Cameron of Ainslie, as the vertically-challenged tree trunk on Paterson Street, Ainslie. Hobson, aged12, beat a number of readers to the prize including Margy Wylde-Browne of Ainslie, instantly recognised the local landmark, "having attended a number birthday parties at nearby Corroboree Park".

Meanwhile, a number of readers, including Margaret Richardson report that "the tree has been slowly sagging over the years", saying that when her children first encountered it (about 35 years ago) "it was at least one metre from the ground". Marilyn Charlton of Ainslie reports that in the 1990s her nieces and nephews nicknamed it the "walking tree" as "they often tried walking up the trunk", adding, "back then the largest branch was then intact and the trunk had not collapsed".

How to enter: Email your guess along with your name and address to timtheyowieman@bigpond.com. The first email sent after 10am, Saturday, July 25, 2015 with the correct answer wins a double pass to Dendy cinemas.