Pataua North is a settlement in Northland, New Zealand. It lies at the mouth of the Pataua River

Pataua River

The Pataua River is a tidal river of the Northland Region of New Zealand's North Island. It flows northeast from its origins east of Whangarei, reaching the Pacific Ocean at the southern end of Ngunguru Bay. At it's mouth, the river is flanked by the settlements of Pataua North and Pataua South,...

 on the Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

, and is connected to Pataua South

Pataua South

Pataua South is a settlement in Northland, New Zealand that lies at the mouth of the Pataua River on the Pacific Ocean, and is separated from Pataua North by a footbridge....

 by a footbridge

Footbridge

A footbridge or pedestrian bridge is a bridge designed for pedestrians and in some cases cyclists, animal traffic and horse riders, rather than vehicular traffic. Footbridges complement the landscape and can be used decoratively to visually link two distinct areas or to signal a transaction...

 over the estuary.

There are around 100 houses in the settlement, most of which are holiday homes.
According to the 2006 New Zealand Census, the Pataua-Whareora area had a population of 993, though the majority of that is spread along the Pataua North Road.
So the permanent population is likely to be around 100 individuals.

A community hall is run by the Pataua Outdoor Education and Recreation Trust. that is now used mostly for school camps by Primary and Secondary schools from the Whangarei District

Whangarei District

The Whangarei District is located in Northland, New Zealand. Whangarei is the principal town and the district seat. Other towns include Hukerenui, Hikurangi, Titoki, Ruakaka and Waipu...

, but was once a one-room school

One-room school

One-room schools were commonplace throughout rural portions of various countries including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Ireland and Spain in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In most rural and small town schools, all of the students met in a single room...

, that closed in the 1980s due to low numbers.

In recent years a number of the surrounding beef farms

Intensive farming

Intensive farming or intensive agriculture is an agricultural production system characterized by the high inputs of capital, labour, or heavy usage of technologies such as pesticides and chemical fertilizers relative to land area....

 are moving towards permaculture

Permaculture

Permaculture is an approach to designing human settlements and agricultural systems that is modeled on the relationships found in nature. It is based on the ecology of how things interrelate rather than on the strictly biological concerns that form the foundation of modern agriculture...

, sustainability

Sustainability

Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...

, and ecotourism

Ecotourism

Ecotourism is a form of tourism visiting fragile, pristine, and usually protected areas, intended as a low impact and often small scale alternative to standard commercial tourism...

.

It is also a popular surfing

Surfing

Surfing' is a surface water sport in which the surfer rides a surfboard on the crest and face of a wave which is carrying the surfer towards the shore...

destination.