We drove up to North Shore for a sunset shoot today.

We didn’t have any particular destination in mind. Our plan was to drive along the coastline on the curvy Kamehameha Highway until we found a good location.

We stopped by couple beaches and they didn’t really work out for us. We kept on driving, and passed by the very tip of North Shore. We saw some cars parked by the roadside indicating that there was a beach although there wasn’t any sign indicating which beach it was.

This beach was no ordinary beach. The waves were no ordinary waves!!

See what I mean?

I have never seen such rough water. The hollow barrel-like shape of waves were enormous and fierce. Since the waves were very close to the shore, I could feel the energy of the powerful waves pounding on the beach and I could smell the saltwater.

“What beach is this?” I asked someone

“Pipeline.”

OMG. This is THE famous Ehukai beach, also known as Banzai Pipeline beach. It’s named Pipeline for a reason! Look at the enormous tubular waves!

Guess what? I was told that these waves were actually baby waves. In winter, the waves could be of thunderous 30-foot or more! No wonder this place attracts the the world’s most daring surfers.

The beach community here is friendly. This is where the locals stay. I didn’t see many tourists here.

Ladies, feast your eyes with dark chocolate “brownies” who have tattoos on their back, arms and legs.

Tattoos are quite common here and there are no shortage of tattoo parlors. My feeling is that if I live on Hawaii long enough, I will end up getting one or two tattoos.

I am not trying to discriminate, but the North Shore surfers seem to have more characters than the Waikiki surfers. The surfers here have a sense of pride. Of course! You better have some serious surfing skills in order to surf here. You have to be the daredevil whose adrenalin rushes when surfing next to waves that are double/triple/quadruple/++ your height.

For a nonsurfer like me, I joined the spectators on the beach watching the surfers working the waves. The waves were pretty close to the shore, so I could appreciate the surfers up close. :rtdance3:

If you really have to bring your kids with you, please keep them contained in a safe area. They can always play with the sand.

Unless, they were born of Hawaiian Water God. Then, you can let them loose, and let them throw themselves into their papa waves over and over and over.

I watched these local kids playing in the waves that were at least twice their height. They were unbelivable in water. They knew exactly how to handle the water. Their parents just sat on the beach, chatting and laughing, didn’t seem concerned at all.

I wonder if the lifeguard had to count the number of kids on the beach every five minutes, just to make sure.

Although the water was quite rough, it was incredibly clear. It’s definitely a good swimming spot when the water is not so rough during summer months.

R & K picked a couple spots for the shoot. The sunset was gorgeous.

What is the most romantic thing to do on the beach?

There was an Asian guy starting a hipachi grill on the beach while watching sunset. Awwww…! :rtlove: Now, that’s romantic! (No, he is not single. His girlfriend was next to him.)

If you are visiting Oahu (especially in winter), remember to stop by here! There might not hipachi, but the spectacular waves will be here!

Check out more photos by clicking on the album cover below.