Day three started before sunrise. That was deliberate — I wanted more time behind the Lazer Glide in real conditions after mounting it on the 79 Series instead of the Porsche. It was also a good excuse to drive back down to Coolamine Homestead in the morning light while everyone else was still in their sleeping bags.
By the time we got to the Nichols Gorge walk, the morning was already well spent. What was supposed to be a 7 km loop turned into a lot more than that. Partly because of signage. Partly because I didn't fill my water bladder properly. And partly because the creek I was counting on for a refill was bone dry.
Dawn Run — Testing the Lazer Glide Against the Linear Elite Plus
The Lazer Glide is a curved, low-profile LED bar — just under 7,000 lumens in boost mode with a reach of around 550 m. It was originally going on the Porsche, but fitting it would have needed custom bracket fabrication that neither Lazer nor I wanted to invest in. So it went on the Cruiser instead, where I could actually compare it back-to-back with the Lazer Linear Elite Plus I already run.
My verdict after driving into the Cooleman Plains before sunrise: the Glide is a solid light bar, but it doesn't replace the Linear Elite Plus for this kind of driving. The difference comes down to beam pattern. The Glide is narrower — better suited to on-road and soft-road use. Out here in the high country, I want the wider spread to illuminate the left and right of the track. The Linear Elite Plus does that better.
Worth noting: driving into the sunrise with a fox still out on the plains was genuinely magnificent. That had nothing to do with the light bar.
Coffee, First Night on the Mattress, and the OnTap Roam
Back in camp after the dawn drive, I ran through the usual morning routine. The OutIn battery grinder is still in my kit — I wouldn't have bought it myself, but given I have it, it earns its place. I'm still brewing with the Delter Press. Clean-up has always been the annoying part of that brewer, and the OnTap Roam pressurised water system takes care of it. A bit of pressure makes the whole process significantly easier than trying to rinse it from a jerry can.
This was also the first proper review of the Agnes Kempmeister Deluxe winter mattress after two nights. Warm, comfortable, and quiet — no loud crinkle every time you roll over. The one issue: the Flextail pump couldn't push past about 70% inflation. The mattress has a valve designed to stop air escaping during inflation, and at that point the pump couldn't generate enough pressure to move it further. I finished it off by mouth. The sack that comes with the mattress might work as an alternative inflation method — something to try next time. Overall, very happy with the purchase.
Six Bonus Kilometres Courtesy of a National Parks Sign
The Nichols Gorge walk starts from Blue Waterholes car park. It's rated as a 7 km loop, Grade 4, medium difficulty. We set off in good spirits, deep in conversation, and passed a sign that pointed off to the side. We glanced at it, kept walking straight, and climbed out of the valley up to the plateau.
About 45 minutes in, still chatting and enjoying the open country, we noticed there was no gorge anywhere in sight.
The sign we'd ignored was the turn-off to the gorge. Walking straight leads up and away from it entirely. Other walkers had made the same mistake — the junction isn't obvious. We turned around and added roughly 6 km of unplanned walking before the actual walk had even started.
I'd also made the mistake of not fully topping up my water bladder. I had about half a litre, figuring I could refill from the creek along the way — the same as I'd done in Clark Gorge the day before. That assumption turned out to be wrong.
Cooleman Cave and Murray Cave
Once we finally found the correct entry to the gorge, the first cave comes up about 500 m in. Cooleman Cave has 335 m of passages across two branches — tight sections, flowstone on the floor, and some genuinely impressive larger chambers. The ceiling in the main chamber has crystals that catch the light. Some of the passages into the inner sections have a low ceiling that'll test taller walkers. It's easy to get turned around inside — there are multiple branches and connecting passages. A map would be worth bringing.
About another 1.5 km further along is Murray Cave — the largest cave at Blue Waterholes, with 784 m of passage. The entrance is a narrow slot in the rocks; if it weren't signposted, you'd walk straight past it. Inside, it opens up into an airy walkway with floor stone and straw formations on the ceiling. About halfway along, an impassable siphon blocks further progress — it's only been open around three times in the last 100 years, during severe droughts. Apparently a number of the formations were vandalised in the early twentieth century.
Given the time we'd lost to the detour, I only went about 100 m into Murray Cave before turning around. We had a few hours of driving ahead of us still.
On the path between the two caves, a sign pointed out fossil locations. Dan found what looked like a shell fossil — fine lines in the rock, still legible after who knows how long.
The Dry Creek, the Katadyn BeFree, and a Shortcut Decision
The creek through Nichols Gorge was bone dry. Not a trickle. After Clark Gorge the day before — nine crossings, wet feet guaranteed — I had assumed water would be there. It wasn't.
I was carrying a Katadyn BeFree portable water filter for exactly this kind of situation. The problem is, a filter is useless without water to filter. I was down to very little by the time we reached Murray Cave. The first water we found was inside the cave itself, which I used. I finally got a proper refill at around the 10 km mark of the day.
The lesson: carry water. Don't rely on finding a stream, even if one was flowing the day before.
By 1:00 PM, with a long drive to the Gungarlin River camp still ahead, we decided not to take the official track back up and over the escarpment. Instead we followed the dry creek bed directly back to the car park — cutting several kilometres off the return. It paid off.
Air-Up, ExplorOz, and the Drive to Gungarlin River
On hitting the tar, it was time to air back up to road pressure. I've been running the MorrFlate multi-tyre inflation system this trip and it has replaced the JMAC I'd been using for years. The reason is simple: MorrFlate does all four tyres simultaneously. JMAC can't. That difference alone has made it a permanent kit addition.
ExplorOz missed the section around here again — same issue as the previous episode. Memory-Map had no problem with the same road. There were also a few closed gates on the way in, and the route looked more like private station access than a national park entrance. But it is a national park, and it's a good find.
We arrived at Gungarlin River campground on the Thursday before Easter. It was already well populated. Best spots long gone. We made the best of it — good dinner, fire, early night — and that was day three: 11 km on foot and a few hours behind the wheel.
Part 4 covers the walk to Daveys Hut, Dan's fuse box issues, and a 4WD-only river camp I'm not sharing the location of. Watch the full Kosciuszko 2026 series on YouTube.
