July 6

Kualoa Ranch

"Kualoa" means "long back" in Hawaiian - reflects the ranches mountain peaks and valleys

Today we had a early start and spent the majority of our day at Kualoa Ranch.
Little history/background:
-Family owned by the Morgan Family
-Used during WWII - had an airstrip here and the monkeypod trees were great shelter and made for hangers for the planes

-4,000-acre working cattle ranch
-Major movies filmed here: Jurassic Park, Pearl Harbor, Godzilla, Windtalkers, Tears of the Sun, Mighty Joe Young, 50 First Dates, Hawaii Five-O; LOST and the list goes on...
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There are many activities you can do here at Kualoa Ranch - for a full day package you get to pick 4 activities.
1. Movie set tour = Mom & me; ATV's through mountains = Dad, Jack, Cindy & Jason
2. Horseback riding = Jack, Cindy, Jason & Me; Fishpond & Hawaiian Gardens = Mom & Dad
3. & 4. Ocean Voyaging Tour & Secret Island Beach
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MOVIE SET TOUR was unbelievable - just sooo beautiful, couldn't believe my eyes scenery, awesome feeling being where so many amazing movies/scenes were captured.
Jack LOVED the ATV - first time doing a big "adventure" with one and he had a truly great time!






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HORSEBACK RIDING - I have only done this once before. It was for Girl Scouts and I was probably 11 or 12 at the time - and I cried and freaked out the whole time leading up to doing it and for the first 10 minutes of being on my horse.
This time - I've grown up a bit since then....still pretty scared but I controlled myself and just kept saying, "Michelle - they wouldn't have things like this for tourists if it wasn't safe..." And I just kept petting my horse's head and saying "Good boy! Thanks for being soo good and not kicking me off Good boy!!" haha...
Needless to say I got a horse that was pretty perfect for my fears. He was SLOW! And when I say SLOW, that is a complete understatement, haha!! Part of me eventually wished we could pick up speed and trot a little, but he was slow and steady, so I humored him and appreciated his good manners.


Since Cindy has done this many times before they put the more "experienced" rider on a horse that was bold, HUGE, strong-willed, and how can be a bully to others. He was also not allowed to be the leader or by Jack's horse...who also can be a bully and strong-willed. So who do they stick in between the two?! Yep - me and my gentle-mannered, semi-Eeyore-personality horse!! All was well! Jason had the lead with his horse who just wanted to eat everything along the way and who preferred to hug the far left part of the trail instead of being in the middle with more space.
All in all - great fun, BEAUTIFUL way to see the mountains and really be a part of them! But after an hour ...my legs and butt needed a rest!
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**CATAMARAN OCEAN VOYAGE & SECRET ISLAND - At this point it started to get a little rainy/cloudy/windy/cold. (Very common for this part of the island, so close to the mountains!) It was a bumpy ride out to see the famous Chinaman's Hat, but worth getting a little wet and wind-blow for the closeup view!!! After that we stayed for a while on Secret Island. Mainly we just walked the beach and Jack did another paddle-surfing adventure.






...That speck out in the ocean is Jack, paddle-surfing!

I give Kualoa Ranch 4 stars out of 5!! Great day with the family, fun adventures, and unforgettable scenery!!!



























**Some info found from Kualoa Ranch website