Urunga Boardwalk & Breakwall

At Urunga the Bellinger and Kalang rivers join and run out to sea between training walls, and a long timber boardwalk carries walkers from the town across the lagoon and out along the breakwall towards the ocean beach. That puts anglers over moving river water with almost no scrambling — one of the few river mouths on this coast you can fish from a boardwalk. Land-based anglers work the rock walls here for mulloway and luderick. Bellingen Shire Council has been replacing the boardwalk in stages through 2025–26.

Bream and luderick are fished along the river face of the wall, with weed under a float for blackfish and lightly weighted prawn or strip for bream. Flathead and whiting take soft plastics and nippers on the sand edges on the run-in. Mulloway anglers fish the tide changes after dark with live bait, squid or fresh strip where the current sweeps past the wall. In summer, jacks hunt the rock edges and snags around dusk.

Bream and luderick are the reliable catches, best from autumn through spring. Flathead (36–70 cm slot, bag 5) and sand whiting (27 cm, bag 20) take over in summer. Mulloway (70 cm, bag 1) are the river mouth's prize, and mangrove jack (bag 5, no size limit) are a summer chance — both rivers hold jacks.

Check Bellingen Shire Council's boardwalk page before you go. As of its August 2026 update, more than 800 m of new boardwalk was open, the final breakwall section (Stage 4) was due for completion in late 2026, weather permitting, and short closures of 1–2 hours were scheduled every second or third day while foundations went in. Council has asked anglers not to cut fish or bait on the platform seats until a cutting board is installed. The tide change is everything here; the confluence runs hard in the middle of the tide.

Park in Urunga's town centre near the lagoon and the Lido, then walk out along the boardwalk across the lagoon to the training wall. The boardwalk is flat, which makes it one of the most accessible river-mouth spots on the coast while it's open, though sections may close during works. Toilets, cafes and shops are in town at the boardwalk's start. Kids are fine on the boardwalk with supervision; keep them off the wall rocks.

The river side is sheltered from most swell, but a big easterly sea surges into the mouth and makes the outer end unpleasant. The two rivers carry floodwater after heavy rain, colouring the mouth for days. Light winds and a tide change into dawn or dusk are the pick; the middle of a big run-out is often too fast to fish.

The confluence current is strong; anyone who falls from the wall or boardwalk edge is carried towards the bar — keep children back from the edge. Respect any works fencing and closures on the boardwalk. The outer end of the wall takes surge in an easterly sea. Bellingen is not one of the ten council areas declared under the Rock Fishing Safety Act 2016, but a lifejacket is strongly recommended if you climb down onto the wall rocks. Boats cross the bar at the river mouth.

Mostly. Bellingen Shire Council's August 2026 update said more than 800 m of the new boardwalk was open, with the final breakwall section due to be finished in late 2026 and short closures during works. Check the council's Urunga Boardwalk Replacement page before you go.

Yes. Anglers fish from the boardwalk and the training wall at the Bellinger and Kalang river mouth, and the new boardwalk includes a fishing platform. Council asks that fish and bait not be cut on the platform seats. A NSW Recreational Fishing Fee is required unless you're exempt.

Bream, luderick (blackfish), dusky flathead, sand whiting and mulloway, with mangrove jack in summer. Mulloway are 70 cm minimum with a bag of one; luderick 27 cm with a bag of 10.

At Urunga, just inside the river mouth. The boardwalk crosses the lagoon from the town and runs out along the training wall where the combined rivers flow to sea.