VIDEO: We Bikepacked the New England High Country in 3 days | 270kms in Mid-Winter

We rode 270km across the New England High Country over 3 days - no tent, no stove and no sleeping bags. This is credit card bikepacking in the NSW High Country.

The New England High Country is the highest plateau on the Great Dividing Range, sitting at around 1,000m in northern New South Wales and over the last few years it's quietly become one of the best gravel cycling destinations in Australia. We rode a 272km loop out of Armidale, through Yarrowyck and Kingstown, down to Bendemeer, across to Walcha and back, with 3,534m of climbing and a roughly even split of sealed road and gravel.

The catch: we did the whole thing credit card camping. No tent, no sleeping bag, no stove, no cooking gear and no food beyond snacks. Instead we found a route around towns with a pub, a caravan park and a grocer. The point was to take weight off the bikes to turn a multi-day bikepacking trip into something you can do over a long weekend.

The loop we rode is the southern third of the New England High Country 1000.
Credit to "Redrider" on RidewithGPS for the route inspo - link: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/38935547


📊 The numbers:
→ Total distance: 272km
→ Total ride time: 16h 4m
→ Total ascent: 3,534m
→ Day 1: Armidale → Bendemeer, 120km
→ Day 2: Bendemeer → Walcha, 65km
→ Day 3: Walcha → Armidale, 87km

📍Locations visited in video:
→ Armidale, NSW (Armidale Tourist Park)
→ Yarrowyck & Kingstown
→ Bendemeer (Bendemeer Tourist Park & Bendemeer Hotel)
→ Woolbrook
→ Walcha (Walcha Caravan Park)

💡Tips:
→ Credit card bikepacking only works if you check the towns first. Pub kitchen hours, IGA closing times and caravan park availability should all be confirmed (ideally) before you leave.
→ Day 1 is the longest day on the loop at 120km. There is a half way stop at Danielli Family Store - but get in before 2pm otherwise they may be out of food.
→ July in the New England High Country means frost and 0°C mornings at 1,000m elevation - it's bloody cold so take your warm gear!
→ There is no resupply between Walcha and Armidale on Day 3. Carry everything you need out of the Walcha.