We had been exploring Whitfield and the King Valley in Victoria’s High Country and were driving along the Mansfield – Whitfield Road just out of town, when we saw the sign to Powers Lookout and instinctively made the turn. Nestled at the end of the three kilometre trip along a gravel road lies the rocky escarpment now known as Power’s Lookout.

Pulling into the parking area and there is not another car in sight. The stars have aligned and we have the place to ourselves.

Rumour has it that this rocky escarpment high above the King Valley was the hideout of the notorious but gentlemanly bushranger of the 1860’s one Harry Power.

There are two lookout points – the first is adjacent to the car park and is accessible for those whose mobility is limited. We stop here briefly and take in the views over the Wobonga Plateau to the distant Alpine Peaks. The views are enjoyable however we decide to move on and take the short walk of approx 400 metres to the second lookout located on the Northern-most point of the rocky outcrop. Whilst not a challenging walk, but adding to the sense of adventure, we were required to negotiate a series of twists, turns, ladders, stairs and walkways that took us through a number of caves and rocky formations to get to the viewing platform where we were greeted with spectacular views of the plateau, Alpine Peaks and the King Valley below. We comment that the views from the outcrop and the twists and turns would have made for a good hideout for our bushranger Harry Power.

We retrace our steps back to the car park and note that we now have company with a handful of people gathered at the first lookout. We decide to make use of the picnic tables and make ourselves a cup of tea from our thermos and enjoy this with a home made biscuit or two.

We spot a sign indicating a short, 20 minute return walk through the bush to a waterhole and decide to ‘have a look’. The track was damp and slippery from previous days rain and we called it quits before reaching the waterhole. Perhaps next time we are in the area we will finish this walk and find the waterhole where our bushranger took his horse to drink.

Getting there:

 Powers Lookout Road Whitlands 3678

Facilities:

Parking area, Picnic Tables, Toilets

Harry Power – More information on the bushranger Harry Power can be found at the State Library of Victoria https://ergo.slv.vic.gov.au/explore-history/rebels-outlaws/bushrangers/harry-power