Life at 5 Corners on the North Shore of Maui

Five Corners – Ulumalu Rd., Upper Ulumalu Rd., Peahi Rd., Kaupakalua Rd (2) – Haiku, Maui

Living at five corners in Haiku has always been a colorful life. When I first moved to Maui in 1978, I used to get frustrated when driving up narrow Ulumalu Rd. and running in to a couple of locals, parked side by side, chatting, or “talking story” as known locally. Usually, it would be on a slow Saturday when we were headed up to Hanzawa’s Store to get gas for the lawn mower and beer.

After a while, you got to know most of the locals and started doing the same when you approached them. Talking about kids, family, or just the weather is still a way of life at Five Corners. When I see bumper stickers that say, “slow down, this ain’t the mainland,” it reminds of why I left California, and still live in the same house on Ulumalu Rd. that I moved to 33 years ago.

Local author, Paul Wood, wrote a column in the Maui News for years called, “Four Wheels, Five Corners” that would talk about the roadside encounters, which became the Peahi version of the “coconut wireless.” If you wanted to know where the Jacintho’s baby luau was being held, you stopped somebody in the road. You always ended up with a lot more information than you needed. Paul’s versions are hilarious and I am not sure they are still in print, but Paul is still on the radio at Mana’o Radio on Maui, Tuesday 2 to 5 P.M. Perhaps we might be able to find some copies: paulwood@manaoradio.com.

If you are thinking of an area that retains a lot of that old Maui feel, Five Corners at Peahi is one of those spots. Rural in character, you still encounter horses in the road. On Sundays, you have to stop for the horse trailers going to the arena at the old Peahi School site known as the Kaupakalua Roping Club. Lots of big name surfers and windsurfers hide in the jungle because they like to live in close proximity to Peahi Bay, also known as “Jaws.”

Here is an awesome video my son and business partner, Jeremy, shot of windsurfers at 40 ft. Jaws surf. It is also rumored that many famous musicians and even a few movie stars live in the area, but it is local custom to protect our neighbors privacy. Thus, we don’t share names because they become your neighbors and friends as well, and you often encounter them at Five Corners and they may want to “talk story” too.

Life really has not changed a lot at Five Corners over the past 33 years. The main difference is that now it is my kids talking to their friends, blocking the road, and slowing the old guys down even a little more. That’s fine with me. Here are 10 reasons why life is good on Maui, and slow is better than fast 🙂

Here are some of my favorite Haiku Homes for sale that are near Five Corners. If you would like more information on these homes including the history on these properties and how they have changed throughout the years, please contact me. Or if you would like to share one of your favorite Five Corner’s stories, I would love to hear from you.

Aloha.