08/03/2019

If you’re into the movie Jurassic Park, then you would love this tour: and hopefully you’ll love reading about it here! Kuoloa Ranch is a nature preserve located in the mountains of Oahu and the film location sites for movies and TV such as 50 First Dates, Kong Skull Island, Hawaii Five-0, Lost, and many others. You get to see many views such as this:

This is another place where it’s easier to pre order your tickets online; our tour was at 0845 and they had them ready. There’s other things to do besides the movie tour: horseback riding, ATVs, and zip lining, depending on how adventurous you’d like to be.

You board a bus without windows and begin the drive. Our guide Troy was fantastically sarcastic and totally made the tour. In between jokes, he explained to us about Oahu’s first sugar mill, pillbox bunkers used by the military, how houses are called hale and the vegetation and fruit of Hawaii.

Inside the largest bunker is movie posters and props. Troy told of how the US military ended up on Hawaii and the animals that keep the vegetation naturally trim. He also spoke of fun movie bits like the rocks the George of the Jungle producers named “the kissing gorillas” because that’s what they looked like to him I guess!

You get to stop at the famous log scene from Jurassic Park and take a photo. You also get to take a fun photo with “Rexy”, Troy’s toy dinosaur, and he puts the toy in front of your cell phone camera to make it look like a t-Rex is attacking you! Pose!

We drove by a huge longhorn steer and he asked the group on the bus if anyone had ever seen a real longhorn and we were the only ones who raised our hands: can’t hide that we are Texan! I learned that the Mexican vaqueros actually came to Hawaii to teach the people how to essentially become cowboys! Their longhorn was sweet and Troy got out to feed him fruit and he came right up to the bus.

He also told us that Dwayne Johnson was the nicest celebrity to visit, even singing his song from the movie Moana with a bus full of second graders who were on a field trip to the ranch. Also, coconuts are not a native plant in Hawaii; the Polynesians brought them here. He ended the tour with a look out to the ocean to what he called “nipple island” because yes, that’s exactly what it looks like. You can actually walk to this in the winter when the tide is very low and the weather is cooperative to hike, swim, or parasail!

The tour was done by 1000, and we picked up a cool t-shirt and ate the food there. We had Hawaii’s signature garlic butter shrimp with rice and macaroni salad, and a BLT and avocado wrap. I’m not a fan of peeling shrimp and seeing their little legs, so I only ate a few.

You leave seeing a wall of famous visitors and some original props from Jurassic Park.

It was beach time again! This time we drove a bit up north from the ranch to Sunset Beach. The sand was very hot, but it was a fabulous beach with clear waters and great views.

It started drizzling on the beach for a quick bit but it wasn’t bothersome. I had bought some chips called “Maui Style” and was disappointed to learn they taste like regular old kettle style chips. But the bag is cool looking.

There’s a restroom and wash station right across the street and you’ll need it: the sand here sticks to everything. And everywhere on your body! No brushing it off. The one thing it didn’t stick to: my pack towel! I just shook it and it came off easily.

After swimming in the currents, we walked back to the car but was stopped by the sweet scent of fruit from a stand called “Coco Hut” and had the most delicious banana smoothie ever. The woman made it in her charming stand while singing along to George Michael’s song “Freedom” playing on her little radio while making it.

Everything and everyone is total beach vibes here. Trucks passing by with music playing, people in bikinis and trunks hanging out with their friends, and stands selling fresh avocados and mangoes.

On the way back to the house, I made a stop at the famous Romy’s Kakuhu Prawns and Shrimp Hut. They harvest their own catch on the property right behind the stand. It was an hour wait and they were sold out of fried shrimp – bummer. But we had a sweet corn on the cob to tide us over until we could grab dinner.

I drove by Diamond Head State Monument even though it was too late to do the hike and it was closed, but it’s still impressive.

Back to Waikiki since it was my daughter’s favorite place so far and she wanted to return. The clothing there is too expensive, it’s definitely catered towards high paying tourists. We were going to try this authentic Japanese ramen place but it was tiny and there was a line.

Instead, we found Eggs ‘n Things, which had lots of awards from the local newspaper and seemed to be a local favorite. We ordered breakfast for dinner: pork chop with pineapple, eggs, bacon, crispy potatoes, and 3 types of pancakes: pineapple, macadamia nut, and coconut topped with whipped cream. It was great.

Went to the water front at Waikiki one last time before heading back to turn in. I had to top off the car I rented and found out that I couldn’t pre pay at the pump with my card and had to “guesstimate” an amount which meant I returned in the store again. It’s really inconvenient.

Time to sleep and then wake up one more time to the beautiful view from the Airbnb room before heading out to Maui tomorrow. It is plain to see why this is a tourist’s paradise!