Power's Lookout, Powers Lookout Scenic Reserve - July 2020

Mt Howitt, The Crosscut Saw and Mt Speculation from the carpark lookout.

Ah yes, in more innocent times it was the months or maybe the seasons that were milestones as we progressed through the months of any given year. Times have changed a little now though... and it's all for the worse unfortunately, the milestones this year are marked by the different periods of lockdowns we are enduring. As I'm typing this we are a week into Iso 2.0, our second six week lockdown for the year, a year that I hope is an outlier when it comes to the shitty factor. So what's that got to do with this tiny little walk up at Powers Lookout? Well I'm glad you asked... Between lockdowns Sam and I managed to escape for a few days up to Beechworth for a little mental health time and this short little stroll that we did on the way home was the last stroll I managed before being locked down again for Iso 2.0.

We'd just driven up the King Valley through that fog.

Harry Power was a bushranger that lived up here in the mid 1800's and it is believed that he took a young bloke named Ned Kelly under his wing to teach him the bushranging ropes...and we all know how that all turned out. Now I'm thinking old Harry was wasting his talents as a bushranger really, looking at the views from his old hideout I'm thinking Harry should of gone into Real Estate, it's all about position, position, position up here. The good news now is that to get some of the best views I only had to walk a few metres from the ute to the raised metal lookout platform, the view from here featuring Mt Howitt, the Crosscut Saw and Mt Speculation among the many snow capped peaks.

Dropping down from the carpark to Powers Lookout I followed this good tourist track.

After taking in the view from the lookout platform at the car park I set off down to Powers Lookout. While this is a very short little stroll that doesn't mean it's boring, the track firstly drops down some stones steps through some very rocky country before climbing some ladders and steps out onto a rock outcrop that juts out over the King Valley. Arriving at Powers Lookout I was greeted by a fairly similar view to the one back up at the car park, although having walked here somehow made things seem a little more dramatic. The fog that had accompanied our drive up the King Valley this morning was now starting to lift which meant that the view was constantly changing as the fog came and went, opening up new vistas.

Even though this is a pretty easy walk you still need to be a little agile.

Eventually the cold got the better of me this morning and I retraced my outward route back to the car park. Instead of jumping into the warm ute though I decided to try and find Power's Waterhole. This short track isn't sign posted however after walking through the car park and passing the toilets I picked up the obvious track heading into the bush. This track is fairly level for a few minutes before it drops down a steep gully between huge outcrops of mossy rocks. On reaching the bottom of these rocks I contoured right beneath the cliffs and found what I'm assuming is Power's Waterhole. The grandly named waterhole is a small bathtub sized pool of water at the base of the cliffs that looks like it has a spring seeping out of the mossy cliffs above it dripping into it. 

The King Valley from Powers Lookout.

The fog was creeping closer.

I'm thinking that this is Mt Buller.

I'm guessing that this cave must of been Mr Powers old hideout.

   

After exploring the area around the waterhole for a little while whilst trying to imagine what life would of been like hiding out here in the 1800's I climbed back up to the ute. The short walk back was made a little longer as I tried to get a photo of a very noisy but equally as elusive Lyrebird. Arriving back at the ute the fog that had been down in the King Valley was now creeping across the car park which added a certain sense of foreboding as we headed off home and into an uncertain future.

The track to the waterhole heads off beside the toilets.

The pad drops down a gully between some big rock outcrops.

Powers Waterhole

Climbing back up the gully to the carpark.

The Dirt.

I walked 1 kilometres (that's not a typo!) and climbed 74 metres on this easy stroll. Now while the distance is very short the track does require a little agility as there are a lot of steps and a couple of ladders. The walk out to Power's Waterhole is un signposted and informal - you need to pick it up beside the toilets at the car park. Melanie Ball wrote this walk up in her book Top Walks in Victoria. Obviously this walk may not be worth driving up from Melbourne for, however if anyone finds themselves in the area or wants to break the long drive home up a bit then Power's Lookout is well worth a stop.

Relevant Posts.

Mt Cobbler Circuit Walk, Alpine National, 2016.

The crisp, early morning, winter light was appreciated by the author. 

Arriving back at the carpark the fog was starting to roll through.