At the lookout over Hookipa Beach, I witnessed the biggest waves that I had ever seen.

It was was December 29, 2000, and late in the evening, near sunset as we came upon Hookipa Beach. We were all tired from our drive and activities on the Road to Hana. And we were on are way back to the Maui Ocean Marriott to get some dinner and some needed rest.

But when I saw these larger than normal waves, we had to stop. After all, we were looking out over Maui's North Shore, famous for some of the biggest waves on earth.




We got out of the car at the Hookipa Beach lookout point, and watched these hard-core surfers try to do things in and on these monster waves that you only get to see in the movies.

We stayed here for about twenty minutes or so and watched wave after wave come crashing in. You have to remember that these pictures were taken from a vantage point that is approximately 40 feet above the ocean. This translates into: The waves are much larger than they appear.


After a while the waves slowed down and became more like the ones we're used to seeing on the island.

If you want to see a short video clip of the surfers and waves of this beach, go to our Maui Vacations Video Gallery page and scroll down to the Hookipa Beach section.

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