With the back bench seat already occupied, thankfully there's still enough room for our seven bikes which is just as well as the yowie clan have brought along a few friends to road test the 'Round the Bay' cycle track at Jervis Bay, widely touted as our region's ultimate family bike ride.

"Whoa, can I let go now?" asks Emily, my nine-year-old still tightly gripping onto her bike's handle bars as we motor off towards Huskisson. She soon lets go, for with no swell the crossing is flat as a tack.

We began our ride about a half-an-hour earlier when we jumped on our bikes at Callala Beach on the north-western shores of Jervis Bay, which at first glance I'm tempted to label as the poor man's Huskisson. However, with the 1950s fibro and redbrick shacks fast being replaced by architect-designed luxury beachfront bungalows that go under the hammer for over $1 million a pop, it's probably an misguided comparison.

The first two kilometres is on-road cycling, something I usually avoid with kids in tow. But this isn't like cycling on Northbourne Avenue where you are forced to play Russian roulette with the cars (and buses) hurtling past. No, this is on-road cycling Callala-style, where dodging a disorientated crab crawling across the bitumen and a stray tennis ball from a game of backyard cricket are the only hazards we encounter. Phew!

While the yowie clan and their friends are on a mission to cycle all the way to Hyams Beach (and hopefully back), for one of our party, today is just as much about trying to spot a pod of bottled-nosed dolphins.

"Someone on Facebook said this stretch of the track is the best spot to see them," Nike explains while looking fervently in the gaps between each beach house in the hope of a chance sighting of the intelligent marine mammals.

However, after navigating a new section of a dedicated walk/cycle share track that runs through the back of Myola (and you thought Callala Bay was sleepy!), and as the path seems to finish abruptly at Currambene Creek, our dolphin count is still zero.

There's no sign of the ferry terminal, so like the Famous Five (sure there's seven of us, but you get the drift) with bikes in tow we scramble down the embankment onto the wet sand.

A quick phone call to Captain Dave (how many ferries can you call the captain direct?!) and I'm able to reassure everyone that he will be here any minute. This kids scan the creek in anticipation of a boat the size of the Manly Ferry and are a little surprised when Dave and his little twelve-seater flat-bottomed runabout rounds the bend.

The voyage across to Huskisson only takes 10 minutes and arriving at the tourist town's wharf is like we've been transported to a different country. No deserted roads and fibro shacks here, instead a busy main drag heaving with flocks of visitors fighting for car spots and queuing at seaside cafes for tables with a view.

Purposefully we skirt the main drag of Huskisson and almost immediately pick up the sealed shared track. Sure we aren't the only ones on it today but it's certainly no busier than the Lake Burley Griffin Circuit on a warm sunny day.

While the beaches and coastal scenery (including those elusive dolphins) are the main drawcard, the track also provides a voyeuristic peek into the yards of those lucky enough to own an absolute waterfront pad. Some with pools, others with spas, and some with both. Mmm ... a good reason to buy a lotto ticket this week.

If you are after a decent cardio workout then this ride isn't for you, for it's virtually flat all the way, which also has its advantages if you have two kids who baulk at the sight of the slightest incline.

Along the way we each vote for which beach has the whitest sand. Regular readers of this column may recall a few years back your akubra-clad columnist tested sand meticulously collected from each beach (Dreaming of a White Christmas, December 22, 2016), so we won't reopen that debate. Suffice to say, due to the bountiful levels of quartz, every beach here has pearly white powdery sand.

When we reach the littoral rainforest of Planation Point the track suddenly stops again, only this time it's not because of a river crossing. Surprisingly there's no sign but it's clear this is the official end of the 'Round the Bay' track. A bunch of locals walking up from the beach below explain "if you tie your bikes up here, it's a one-hour walk through to Hyams [beach]".

Not carrying any bike locks and with no sign of any dolphins ahead, disappointed, we turn around.

Back at the Husky Wharf, like old pros the kids wheel their bikes on the ferry for the short crossing back to the 'other-side'.

Sure, we didn't see any dolphins (sorry Nike!) but hey, that's just one in a long list of reasons to hit this knock-out track again. Next time we'll take a lock to extend our adventure to Hyams Beach and we might even wait until the weather warms up so we can enjoy a mid-cycle swim. Bring on summer.

Hopefully by then we'll also be free of any travel restrictions to the NSW coast. Make sure you check out the latest ACT and NSW government COVID-19 advice before hitting the road.

Round the Bay cycle track: The shared (with walkers) paved track is around 12km each way from Callala Beach to Plantation Point. If you start at Callala Bay, add 5km each way.

Husky Ferry: Ten-minute voyage, from Myola to Huskisson. Return tickets $15 Adults & $5 kids or $30 per family. Ph: 0467 648 504. Warning: call ahead before planning your trip to the coast as the ferry doesn't operate every day.

This column's obsession with viewing oddities of our city from above is well-known. Regular readers may recall the giant face crafted from rocks at the Cotter Dam (Smiley Face, August 19, 2014) and the over-sized wallaroo carved into a hillside in the Molonglo River Reserve near Coombs (Bouncing Back, April 6, 2019). And, of course, just last month photos of a message painted on an Aranda rooftop were splashed over this page (What on Earth? June 13, 2020).

However, next month, as part of the 'satellite selfie', all Canberrans will have an opportunity to view photographs of their very own landscape 'art' from space.

Dr Brad Tucker, brainchild of the world-first, reveals "in partnership with National Science Week ACT, Maxar, The Australian National University and RISE Canberra, during the week beginning August 17, a satellite taking photographs will fly over Canberra and the surrounding area, including Queanbeyan, Googong, Tharwa, Yass, Murrumbateman, Sutton, Royalla and Bungendore". And if you miss the first satellite, do not fear as there will be two repeat fly-overs in the same week.

"At certain times (only for few minutes on each fly-over) you will be able to go outside for the ultimate selfie," explains Brad, adding, "as the satellite flies over, it will snap a picture of what is happening right then and there". What's more, you don't need your creation to be as big as Molonglo's giant wallaroo as the satellite has a resolution of just 50cm which means that every 50cm equals 1 pixel, so an average human will be three to four pixels.

Brad suggests a couple of ideas for the satellite selfie. "You could organise a group of friends and lay in an oval to create a big message (keep it clean) or mow the lawn in a pattern to send a message from space. The sky's the limit (literally!)

For the exact times, along with the terms and conditions which protect privacy, check ://inspiringtheact.org.au/satellite-selfie

Mmm, I'd love to see a giant yowie. Hop to it!

Clue: Brrr

Degree of difficulty: Hard

Last week: Congratulations to David Evans of Fadden who was first to correctly identify the location of last week's photo as the historic weatherboard cottage at the former Cargill's Dairy (and most recently artist accommodation for the Megalo Print Studio) in the Causeway.

The building is all that remains of the Cargill's Dairy, one of the first dairies leased by the Federal Capital Commission in the 1920s. The dairy, named after its longest owner, David Cargill, was nicknamed 'Big Gun Dairy' because of an Amiens Gun that was captured in World War I and moved to a railway siding next to the dairy in May 1927. The gun is on display at the Australian War Memorial. As recently outlined in Panorama's history column (July 11), the future of the cottage is uncertain due to plans for future development.

How to enter: Email your guess along with your name and suburb to timtheyowieman@bigpond.com. The first email sent after 10am, Saturday July 25, 2020, wins two tickets to the cinemas.

Rick Nehmy from Macgregor recently noticed the spooky appearance of this tree trunk, located alongside the bike path in Umbagong District Park, Latham. "I like to think of it as the 'Tree of the Dead' from Tim Burton's 1999 American gothic supernatural horror film Sleepy Hollow," says Rick, adding for the over 50s it could be the tree outside Robbie Freeling's bedroom window in Poltergeist (1982). Mmm ... I wonder if the tree loppers trimmed it this way on purpose?