We Had the Best Trip Ever! Maholo WWoHP, WDW & Waikiki- A Jan 2012 TR

[OziJo]

Kualoa Ranch is definitely a place worth visiting.

From the website http://www.kualoa.com/about/

Kualoa is a family-owned enterprise with a mission to be stewards of this special land. We do this by preserving, protecting and enhancing Hawaiʻi’s natural beauty and culture, while developing recreational and agricultural enterprises compatible with the environment. We care about and wish to communicate our concern and reverence for our natural environment, the unique Hawaiian culture and the sacred history of Kualoa Ranch.

If you are considering going to Oahu then you must make time for a trip to Kualoa.

As we approached Kualoa we were stunned by the beauty. These two were taken from the carpark:

...but we hadn't seen nothin' yet!

There were a choice of tours depending on whether or not your interest was the movies and TV or history. I suggested we do the historical tour but the other's just wouldn't go for it. So we were stuck with yet another backlot tour

I'm kidding of course. It was all my idea. The original draw of the place was a chance to see where scenes from some of our favourite TV shows and movies had been filmed. But this wasn't just any old backlot tour.

Despite this being the movie tour we still got a little history. We took a lot of photos but they really don't do Kualoa justice.

We saw these ruins as we drove up and now we discovered they were the remains of a a sugar mill which operated unsuccessfully from 1863 – 1870:

Kualoa was a also used during WWII as an auxillary airstrip and bunkers were places in strategic positions. These bunkers have been used as props in the movies such as Pearl Harbour and also appear on LOST:

In fact all the jungle and mountain scenes on LOST were filmed at Kualoa. There is a museum in the large bunker dedicated to LOST. It has the mock mini-sub used in many episodes filmed down at the dock. It also had Poster's from all movie's made there:

We are big LOST fans so it was exciting to see such a familiar setting especially Hurley's golf course and where he made donuts in the blue Darma panel van:

There were signs up along the way indicating where scenes from various movies had been filmed:

A hut used in many films:

A fake termite mound used in the film Journey 2: Mysterious Island

This is the log that they hid behind after running from the dinosaur stampede in Jurassic Park. Much of that movie was filmed here:

A reminder that this is still a working cattle ranch.

 

[OziJo]

(Kualoa cont)
The scenery was just generally stunning:

Another view of Chinaman's Hat:

The girls enjoyed this tour immensely:

After the tour we left Kualoa and headed back in the direction we came from keeping our eyes out for the Giovanni's shrimp truck we had spotted on the way. We soon came across it and stopped for the North Shore specialty of garlic shrimp and rice:

Yum!

We headed home via Turtle beach but no turtles. The surf had been too messy for them today.

We arrived back around 5pm in time to drop off our car and get ready for our 6:30 booking at the Korean Restaurant in the IMP.

That was yum too:

We were being so spoiled how would we ever cope when we got home

 

[OziJo]

I'm glad that you got the rental car to explore Oahu. Lovely pictures. I'm guessing you're looking for the polynesian experience!

The scenery and the shrimp but we didn't catch a luau. We passed the Polynesian Cultural Center but it wasn't in our schedule. One of two things including Sealife Park that we didn't get too. Oh well there is always next time

I am loving your Hawaii portion. Thanks to you we are definitely going back there within the next 12months. Your location was amazing. (I looked it up) When I was there in 2007 we walked to the Shore Bird Restaurant for breakfast twice all the way from back on Kuhio Bvd. The views from your lanai are spectacular.

The thing about Waikiki Shore is that it's not a resort it's and older style building but it's in the perfect Waikiki position IMHO. It's also cheaper than any other Waikiki beachfront.

I'm glad you enjoyed hiring a car. We loved being able to drive around there, so easy and great to do it at your own pace. It is so easy to fall in love with Hawaii. Just another day in parrotdise.

We were surprised at how easy and quick it was to drive around. We were half way around the island before we knew it.

 

[PrincessInOz]

And if you're looking to add to "For Next time" .... Waimea Falls and the Byodo-In Temple.


Lovely scenery around kualoa. Your family really look like they are having a fabulous time.

 

[OziJo]

And if you're looking to add to "For Next time" .... Waimea Falls and the Byodo-In Temple.

Yes definitely. We almost made it to Byodo-In but the lure of the Shrimp truck was too much. And Waimea falls would have taken us off track though DD2 wanted to go there. Oh there was still so much to do. I think if DH had known how easy it was to drive around we may have hired the car for longer.

 

[dara00]

cool, I love lost! I'd love to go to where it was filmed!

 

[Moodyzblu]

It's all so stunning ! My daughter and my mom went and stayed at Turtle Bay Resort last August. Somehow I got stuck home watching all the kids ! But she has lot's of gorgeous pics from there and I am SO envious each time I look at them, but glad they got to go (it had always been my moms dream to see Hawaii ).

 

[MAGICFOR2]

I'm all caught up now! I didn't realize you were already on to Hawaii when I checked in,

Your WDW trip looked just perfect! I always wondered how the FW cabins would be - looks like it worked out great for you!

I am soooo loving your Hawaii TR! You have so many amazing pics here, and it just looks like the perfect relaxing getaway, with all the best experiences! We will be in Oahu in March, and I can see that I will not want to come home! We'll be on the military base, but plan to visit Hale Koa for the luau and of course visit Pearl Harbor. I'm going to send a link to your TR to my friend who is also joining her hubby there at the same time - we have been trying to figure out what we'll do when the guys are at work!

Thanks so much for sharing your experience with us!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

WOW!! No words can really do that island justice...so beautiful...thanks for sharing your pics...

 

[OziJo]

I'm all caught up now! I didn't realize you were already on to Hawaii when I checked in,

Your WDW trip looked just perfect! I always wondered how the FW cabins would be - looks like it worked out great for you!

I am soooo loving your Hawaii TR! You have so many amazing pics here, and it just looks like the perfect relaxing getaway, with all the best experiences! We will be in Oahu in March, and I can see that I will not want to come home! We'll be on the military base, but plan to visit Hale Koa for the luau and of course visit Pearl Harbor. I'm going to send a link to your TR to my friend who is also joining her hubby there at the same time - we have been trying to figure out what we'll do when the guys are at work!

Thanks so much for sharing your experience with us!

Your welcome. I'm glad you've been inspired! There's plenty to do in Oahu

WOW!! No words can really do that island justice...so beautiful...thanks for sharing your pics...

It's been my pleasure. I've loved reliving our trip. Thanks for joining me.

 

[OziJo]

Day 20 Mon 23rd Jan

A lazy day today. DH and DD2 went for a surf while DD2 and I went for a walk. DD1 also went for a walk then got herself a coffee and hung out at Starbucks with her computer.

DD2 realised that I hadn't taken her for some one-on-one so after lunch we wandered up to the IMP. She had spotted a sterling silver ring on one of our earlier visits and wanted to have another look. She had some $US left so we bought the ring and some matching earrings. We also bought a few cute diamante flipflop necklaces for her friends.

Back home DD1&2 decided to hang out in the apartment so DD3 and I went down to the beach. We were joined by DH and had the usual.

We thought it would be nice to get some takeaway from the shops on the beachfront and have dinner in the park:

By the time we bought the food the wind had come up so we had dinner in our apartment and spent the evening in front of the teli.

There was one more day left of our trip. We were starting to think about home.

 

[OziJo]

Day 21 Tues 24th Jan

Our last full day in Honolulu.

I wanted to got to the zoo but only DD3 wanted to come. So while DH went surfing and DD1&2 went for a walk and then Starbucks, DD3 and I walked the whole length of Kalakaua Avenue Waikiki to the Zoo:

Honolulu Zoo is beautiful and a lovely place to wander around. I took a few pictures on my iphone:

There's a ring tailed Lemur here somewhere:

Orangutangs:

I liked this mural:

Lots of pretty gardens:

Lions. The tiger's where off exhibit today. The enclosure's were large but the animals seemed to like to congregate at the glass:

They had an African savannah set up a bit like Animal Kingdom:

Chimpanzees:

I'm a sucker for a wildlife lesson:

We had some lunch and were joined by a lot of infant school kids on excursion and this peacock:

We walked back and started to feel exhausted about half way home as it was a long walk and we had walked all around the Zoo as well. We figured that it was the most walking we had done in one go without stopping to queue or ride. We were quite proud of ourselves.

We all spent our final afternoon on the beach:

Our final sunset:

We got take away again from downstairs. They served excellent Asia/Pacific Rim fusion and we ate our last meal in our apartment:

After dinner as I was getting the girls to thank Dad for bringing us on this trip, he interrupted me and said they wanted to thank me for organising such an amazing trip. Then he sent DD3 into the room and she came out with a WDW bag. He had bought me the Fort Wilderness sweater I had wanted though I had thought it was too expensive at $65.00!

I was really touched. I had enjoyed all the organisation and I think DH was impressed by how I had managed everything down to the finer details. I had to give credit though to the DISboards and all those who had gone before.

After 3 weeks we were looking forward to going home. The girls were even looking forward to going back to school and seeing all their friends. They had some wonderful stories to tell.

We had a 9:10am flight so that meant an early morning taxi pickup. We were heading home.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Looks like a lovely last day in Honolulu. What a wonderful DH and DD1,2,3 you have to provide you with a surprise at the end.

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Looks like a nice last day at the zoo! Mmmm, your quiet dinner sounds delicious! How sweet of your family to surprise you with the sweater! So sad to see you had to go home, but I guess that will give you a chance to plan another trip!

 

[alicia1506]

so lovely of your family to surprise you with the gift that you had wanted, and to recognise all the hard work and planning that went into your trip.

it's so gratifying when people recognise and appreciate the hard work you've put into your trip planning, and personally satisfying when it all goes off without a hitch!! congrats to you for pulling this off on such a huge trip!!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Well done, DH!! And well done, Jo!! You guys really did have an amazing vacation!!! I hope your flights home went well....sad to see everything winding down..this has been a very enjoyable TR!!

 

[LindaBabe]

Amazing trip and fabulous ending! Thank you for sharing!

 

[NLD]

How sweet your dh got you the sweater you wanted!

And wow... totally jealous of those Hawaii pictures!

Sounds like you had an awesome, amazing trip... certainly one to remember for a lifetime.

 

[taylor91]

What a wonderful trip you all have had I loved all your hawaii photos and trips. We will be there for 10 nights in October and your photos have made me extra excited Thankyou for sharing Also I saw that you drove up North (cant remember exactly the name of the place you said but you could go and see the movie settings etc). I was wondering if there were plenty of places selling their tours to see the area including transport etc up to areas like these? It would be a shame going all that way and not to see it all.

 

[OziJo]

Looks like a lovely last day in Honolulu. What a wonderful DH and DD1,2,3 you have to provide you with a surprise at the end.

Thanks for following along PiO. I've really appreciated your comments and interest. I'm going to catch up on your Hong Kong PTR now as I little plan is starting to form in my head that includes Hong Kong Disney and a taste of China...

Looks like a nice last day at the zoo! Mmmm, your quiet dinner sounds delicious! How sweet of your family to surprise you with the sweater! So sad to see you had to go home, but I guess that will give you a chance to plan another trip!

I've already started researching another Hawaii trip and as mentioned above Hong Kong Disney looks nice... Thanks for joining me.

so lovely of your family to surprise you with the gift that you had wanted, and to recognise all the hard work and planning that went into your trip.

it's so gratifying when people recognise and appreciate the hard work you've put into your trip planning, and personally satisfying when it all goes off without a hitch!! congrats to you for pulling this off on such a huge trip!!

It's usually hard to surprise me! It really didn't seem necessary as I had such a great time planing this trip. And of course I enjoyed seeing all those plans work out. Thanks for coming along for the ride. I will be following your next trip plans with fond memories and a touch of envy

Well done, DH!! And well done, Jo!! You guys really did have an amazing vacation!!! I hope your flights home went well....sad to see everything winding down..this has been a very enjoyable TR!!

Maholo for joining in. I'm subbing to your Halloween PTR. I won't be able to keep away from Disney!

Amazing trip and fabulous ending! Thank you for sharing!

How sweet your dh got you the sweater you wanted!

And wow... totally jealous of those Hawaii pictures!

Sounds like you had an awesome, amazing trip... certainly one to remember for a lifetime.

It was an amazing Trip ! So glad you joined me.

What a wonderful trip you all have had I loved all your hawaii photos and trips. We will be there for 10 nights in October and your photos have made me extra excited Thankyou for sharing Also I saw that you drove up North (cant remember exactly the name of the place you said but you could go and see the movie settings etc). I was wondering if there were plenty of places selling their tours to see the area including transport etc up to areas like these? It would be a shame going all that way and not to see it all.

There are many tours available. You can find them online or else the concierge at your hotel can help you. If you are interested in Kualoa Ranch it would be a good idea to do a tour that takes you there specifically. There are full day Oahu tours that take you around the island with a stop at Kualoa but I don't think they would give you enough time to enjoy the Ranch.

Roberts has half day and full day tours to Kualoa Ranch. Here's a link:
http://www.robertshawaii.com/oahu/krh_adv.php.

Kualoa have their own tours.
http://www.kualoa.com/

We hired a car and drove ourselves then took the 1 hour Movies and TV tour. Driving ourselves gave us more freedom and it was cheaper.