Urunga sits at the unusual confluence of two rivers, the Bellinger and the Kalang, which combine in a broad tidal lagoon before reaching the ocean, and the town is far better known for its boardwalk over this estuary — one of the more distinctive short coastal walks on the NSW Mid North Coast — than for any scuba diving. The shallow, sheltered water of the lagoon and river mouth can technically be dived at high tide, but this is genuinely a snorkel- and kayak-oriented environment rather than an established scuba site, with depths rarely exceeding 6 m even in the deeper channels. For anyone who does explore it with scuba gear, the appeal is similar to other sheltered NSW estuaries: seagrass beds and sand flats support rays, small estuarine fish species, and the kind of juvenile recruitment seen in river systems further north, along with occasional sightings of larger fish moving in and out with the tide.

Visibility is typically poor by ocean standards, generally 2-6 m and highly dependent on how much rain has recently fallen in the Bellinger and Kalang catchments upstream, both of which drain a substantial area of hinterland. Urunga is included in this survey primarily for completeness, since it lies directly on the coastal route between Coffs Harbour and Nambucca Heads, but honest expectations should be set: this is not a site with any dive-shop presence, published site guide or established reputation among divers, and it functions far better as a place to snorkel, kayak or simply enjoy the boardwalk than as a scuba destination. Anyone wanting a genuine dive in this area is better served travelling the short distance to Coffs Harbour's Mutton Bird Island or further to the Solitary Islands.

From Urunga township, walk to the river mouth/lagoon area near the well-known Urunga boardwalk over the estuary. Park at the foreshore reserve and enter from the sand or rock edge of the lagoon at high tide; this is a sheltered estuarine entry rather than an ocean beach dive.

This is a sheltered estuarine site rather than an ocean dive, so swell is not a factor, but tidal current through the combined Bellinger-Kalang river mouth can be significant on the outgoing tide, and visibility is typically low and highly dependent on recent rainfall in both river catchments.

Enter at high tide from the lagoon foreshore, explore the shallow sand-and-seagrass bottom at 1-4 m for rays and small estuarine fish, and exit before the tide turns.

No dive centre based in Urunga; the estuary is more commonly snorkelled or explored by kayak than scuba dived, given its shallow depth.