We embarked on an early morning drive to get to the other side of the Island in time to hop on an open-air bus to tour the land where many famous films where made. What made this trip extra special, was we returned in the evening for a private tour with all the Kaniaupio Family!
Kualoa is a 4,000-acre (1,600 ha) private nature reserve and working cattle ranch, as well as a popular tourist attraction and filming location on the windward coast of Oʻahu in Hawaiʻi. It is about 24 miles (39 km) from Honolulu, and 32 miles (51 km) from Haleiwa. The ranch consists of 3 valleys: Kaʻaʻawa Valley, Kualoa Valley, and Hakipuʻu Valley.
The valley was sacred to ancient Hawaiians. It was the site of the sacred drums of Kapahuʻula and Kaʻahuʻulapunawai as well as the sacred Hill of Kauakahiakahoʻowaha, the key to the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Oʻahu. As written in the Kumulipo, an ancient Hawaiian genealogical chant, Kualoa is where Papa and Wakea buried their first still born child, Haloa. It is said that the first kalo (taro) plant grew up from where Haloa was buried at Kualoa.
In 1850 an American doctor, Dr. Gerrit P. Judd purchased 622 acres of ranch land at Kualoa for $1300, and the island of Mokoliʻi just offshore, from King Kamehameha III. Dr. Judd was the first person to translate medical journals into the Hawaiian language for King Kamehameha and so the king was very grateful for his works. In 1860 Dr. Judd bought a further 2200 acres. Then in 1880 Dr. Judd's son Charles bought another 1188 acres. Today there are about 4,000 acres of land.
More than 79 movies and TV shows have been filmed at Kualoa over the years, and the property continues to be a working cattle ranch and is run by John Morgan from the island of Hawaii. While Jurassic Park was filmed here, and it could have looked that way back in the dinosaur age, they never roamed these Islands. Hawaii was formed after their extinction.
This trip was breathtaking and fascinating all at the same time. It was a long day, with travel time and tours for both morning and evening and Raiden had a great time. So many awesome things have happened in between that I’m having a hard time writing this blog, so I think I’ll leave it at this.
The summer is almost over, and all the kids will be returning to Vegas soon, so I should be able to get back on my game after they leave. I will continue to do weekly trips with my mom and will try to write about those as they happen. Until the next one…. stay tuned and stay healthy, happy and wise!