Underrated beach town could be Australia’s next big thing

In the shallows of the Urunga sea lido, a six-year-old girl paddles up to her waist, yelping in delight as shoals of near-translucent fish swarm around her ankles.

Zooming out, teenagers jump off the pontoon, a grandmother swims determinedly in the deeper water beyond the golden sandbank and parents lean back against the posts of the pier.

The revitalised Urunga Lido.Credit: Bellingen Shire Council

This scene of utter contentment comes courtesy of an impressive resurrection. The original Urunga Lido closed in 1999, degraded to the point of uselessness.

The revival, completed in 2019, cost more than $500,000. The outcome is an enormous swimming area, hemmed in by a rock sea wall on one side and a boardwalk on the other, for which the term ‘pool’ doesn’t quite do justice.

This gargantuan lido has the feel of a photogenic, social media-friendly secret that’s about to break out. However, it’s in sleepy Urunga, a NSW North Coast town routinely skipped by drivers ploughing up the Pacific Highway.

A bush-hemmed boardwalk on the lagoon.Credit: Bellingen Shire Council

Urunga lies at the messy confluence of the Kalang and Bellinger Rivers, 28 kilometres south of Coffs Harbour. Spiritually, it fits in that gap between undeveloped hideaway and buzzy beach town. The centre is two streets rather than one, there’s enough footfall for Spar and FoodWorks stores to face off and there’s more than one place to get a decent coffee. But Urunga is a long way from being another Byron Bay or even a Yamba. Go to the Ocean View Hotel on a Friday night and you’ll still find locals in thongs drinking a beer in front of the rugby.

This is a place for mornings, rather than evenings, however. After rising to the chatter of rainbow lorikeets, the boardwalk beckons.

About one kilometre long, the boardwalk stretches over Urunga Lagoon, past the mangroves and wetlands, and along a breakwall. Signs along the way tell of migratory birds, salt marsh ecology and shifting sands. Then, at the end, is a wild-looking, surf-pounded beach where tree branches are washed up on the sand.

Urunga Lagoon … this beach playground is still relatively new.

What’s remarkable about the beach is that it is relatively new, having only emerged since the training walls were built around the Bellinger River estuary. Before that, the river mouth spent centuries shifting. It once came out a couple of kilometres south at Hungry Head. Here, the Urunga Surf Life Saving Club is the only building to be seen amid kilometres of squeaky white sand and thickly vegetated dunes.

Driving out to Hungry Head and looping back to the town centre offers a few signs that other big changes may be afoot for Urunga. New housing estates are being built on the outskirts, the train station provides easy access for non-drivers and a few businesses are trying something beyond small-town staples.

Among them is the Honey Place, which sells massive tubs of niche Australian honeys. They’re made from hives placed strategically among native trees, such as red ironbarks and leatherwoods. The result, as quickly discovered during a tasting session, is a lurching variety of flavours.

Reflections Holiday Park offer premium cabins by the lido.

“The yellow box is light, sweet, easygoing honey,” says manager Jeff Daley as he hands over the tasting spoons. “But as for the coastal tea tree, well … my palate calls that medicinal. It reminds me of something my grandma used to shove down me.”

If Urunga emerges as a culinary destination, however, it’s likely to be on the seafood front. Anchors Wharf leads the charge here with oysters and lavish seafood platters, plus eye-opening twists on whatever has been caught nearby. Whiting fillets are crusted in macadamia and coconut, while red emperor comes in a Thai yellow curry with pineapple and pickle.

It’s a sign that Urunga might be about to burst free from the sleepy secret zone. Thankfully, there’s plenty of space in the lido for new converts.

The details

Visit
Entry to the Urunga sea lido and boardwalk is free, as are tastings at the Honey Place. See thehoneyplace.au

Train
Direct trains from Sydney Central to Urunga take eight hours and 23 minutes, from $53 one-way. See transportnsw.info

To drive, Urunga is 498 kilometres north of Sydney.

Eat
The $130 seafood platters at Anchors Wharf need booking in advance. See anchorswharf.com.au

Stay
The Reflections Urunga Holiday Park has contemporary cabins by the lido from $139 a night. See reflectionsholidayparks.com.au

More
See visitnsw.com

The writer was a guest of Tourism Australia.