Another Hawaii first at Kualoa Ranch

Nestled along the mountains and stretching to the ocean on the Northeastern side of O’ahu is a place of amazing beauty, rich in history, and can be enjoyed by visitors of all ages. This place is Kualoa Ranch. It was established in 1850 and is a 4,000 acre working cattle ranch. Even if you’ve never been to Hawaii, you may recognize it because Hollywood movies such as Jurassic Park, Pearl Harbor, Godzilla, 50 First Dates and many more have been filmed here. Old and new television shows such as Magnum P.I., Hawaii Five 0 and Lost have also made this place famous. The ranch offers tours of the area, so you can see exactly where famous movie stars walked. I have never taken the tour, but, I did get to see this area by running a 5k last April. Each year, Kaaawa Elementary hosts the race as a fundraiser. Several of my friends and I did it because we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get in a run in such a beautiful place and help a local school. Xterra also hosts trail runs twice a year on the property. Those are in December and July. The July one was this morning, but I skipped it because last year I tripped over a tree branch and just did not want to take the chance of falling this year. If you are going to do any race on Hawaii, one at Kualoa Ranch is the one to do because the views are breathtaking. Besides the Hollywood tour, the ranch offers many other recreational activities, including horseback tours, ATV tours, Jungle Expedition Tour, Ocean Voyaging Tour and Legends and Legacy Tour. The only one I have ever been on is the ATV tour. I did this tour 10 years ago, and it was a lot of fun. You can’t go rough riding, though. You have to stay in a group with a guide. I’ve also sailed in a catamaran to Secret Island Beach also on the ranch’s property. Here you will find an ancient fish pond and can learn about Hawaii’s aquaculture. In this picture, you can see the location of the beach as we made our way there.

In two weeks, we will visit the ranch’s educational center and petting zoo as our monthly Stroller Strides outing. I know it will be a fun time, especially for Matthew and all the young children. By now, you are probably wondering why I am writing about the ranch. The reason is because I had another Hawaii first at the ranch today. We attended the 50th Annual Hawaii state farm fair. Last time I lived here, I wouldn’t have given this a second thought, but today was an absolutely enjoyable and pretty perfect day. It was an ideal place to entertain children. There are bouncy houses, rides, horseback rides, and the 4-H exhibit which includes chickens, cows, goats, pigs and any other animal you might find on a farm. The bounce houses were just past the entrance, so it took awhile for us to actually get past that area.

We had lunch there from one of the many lunch wagons and saw a demonstration on how to make spicy poke while we were eating. The fair also includes a country market, plant sale, and agriculture exhibits. There’s also local performers taking the stage throughout the day, but we were far too busy watching Matthew enjoy the rides.

It is a great place for families and will be added to our list of things to do should we still be living in paradise next year. The fair is all weekend, so you can still make it there tomorrow. It starts at 9 a.m. and ends at 5 p.m. Adult tickets are $5. Children and students with a valid I.D. are free, so if you’re looking for something to do take the beautiful drive along Kamehameha Highway and you are sure to find lots of fun!

Kualoa on Dwellable