Urunga

Urunga is a sleepy coastal town of around 3000 people and it is about 4 kilometres from the Pacific Motorway on the Mid-North Coast of New South Wales.

Understand
The name Urunga derives from an Aboriginal word meaning long stretches of white sand. The place is at the confluence of the Kalang and Bellingen Rivers, at their confluence with the sea, creating a large flat and brackish water zone that is under water depending on flow. Since some protective measures were taken towards the open sea in the 1940s, extensive areas of mangrove shrubs have developed.

Get in
Urunga is a stopping point on the North Coast railway line between Sydney and Brisbane. There are 21 trains to and from Sydney each week.

Urunga is on the Pacific Motorway (M1) south of Coffs Harbour. If you're heading northbound from Port Macquarie or Kempsey, exit onto Ballards Road and continue on Giinagay Way north. If you're heading southbound from Coffs Harbour, take the Waterfall Way/Giinagay Way exit and take the second exit at the roundabout. Continue until you reach Urunga.

The Waterfall Way (B78) coming from Armidale also ends a little to the north on the Pacific Motorway. Continue south on Giinagay Way towards Urunga.

Get around
The town is small enough to be explored on foot.

Do
The Urunga Boardwalk is essentally the town's only thing to do. Consisting of almost two kilometers of boardwalks, boardwalk connects the town to the coast, leading through the shallow water areas with a branch leading into the mangrove areas. At high tide the many sandy areas are underwater and in the evening twilight, you can watch rays from the jetty that eat their fill in the shallow water areas. You can also see birds from here, and the play of light at sunset makes the heart of every photo enthusiast beat faster.

Go next

 * Waterfall Way (B78) is a 165 km scenic highway that passes through some of the state's most impressive and important waterfalls.
 * Coffs Harbour is 20 minutes to the north via the Pacific Motorway (M1).