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Old 15 Nov 18, 10:39 PM  
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Lolly90
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Hawaii Honeymoon Oct 18! Day 4 - Kualoa Ranch & The North Shore

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Sunday 21st October 2018

We were up at 06:45 today and headed for a quick breakfast at Starbucks. We both had vanilla lattes, mine with a croissant and Mark’s with a bacon and cheese roll. We like to collect the Starbucks mugs when we travel, so we picked up the Hawaii and Waikiki mugs while we were here. Total cost was $49.00.


Our plan for this morning was the 1.5-hour movie tour at Kualoa Ranch. The tour was scheduled to start at 10:30 but we had to arrive an hour before to check-in. This only took a couple of mins, so we had some time to wander round and go to the gift shop. I spotted a t-shirt I liked, which I picked up after our tour, for $20.94.




At 10:15 we headed over to the movie site tour pick-up point. They had a TV here displaying clips from everything that had been filmed at the ranch, which was good to see. We boarded the tour bus and ended up sitting on the left, but I actually think the right would have had a better view throughout the tour.




The driver gave us lots of information on the ranch itself and its other uses along the way, which was very interesting. First stop on the tour was an old World War 2 bunker, where we were able to get off for 15 mins, to look around. Throughout the bunker are lots of photos and memorabilia from the movies & TV shows filmed here.





Next stop was "Jurassic Valley", which has served as the backdrop to many famous films. This was the area of the ranch I was most looking forward to seeing. We had a photo taken here with the tree from the first Jurassic Park movie.




Once back on the bus, the tour guide pointed out lots of other areas of the ranch that had been used for filming, including National Geographic Live, Kong Skull Island & 50 First Dates, before we headed back. Overall, I really enjoyed the tour and seeing locations I recognised but it would have been nice to be able to get off at a couple more stops. I know the ranch offers several different tours, including ATVs, so they may be different.




Chinaman’s Hat is very close to the ranch, so we drove to Kualoa Regional Park, for the best view of it.


We were starting to get hungry now, so I checked my list of recommended places for a nearby option but they all seemed to be closed as it was Sunday. So, we drove to the McDonald’s in Laie instead – quick and easy option and it was on the way to our next stop.

After lunch, we drove to La’ie Scenic Point. There isn’t any specific parking here, so we just parked along the road, which seemed OK. You can see over to Puka Island from here and you get expansive views of the coast line.



From here, we continued along the coast all the way up to Sunset Beach on the north shore. The drive itself is great, with so many beautiful views along the way of the coast and the unique landscape of Oahu.



We parked up along the road, near the beach and just had a little wander up and down the beach. There was an area that was sectioned off, where 2 seals were laying.


We walked from the beach to Ted’s Bakery, which was on my list of food places to try. We weren’t very hungry, after lunch, so just picked up a Chocolate Haupia Pie to share for $4.26. We sat on one of the benches just outside, to eat the pie. This had been recommended a lot while I was researching Oahu and I can see why. It was really good and I wish I could’ve bought some home.




We headed back to the car and continued driving on to Haleiwa, which is a surf town on the North Shore. We parked in one of the car parks, just off the main road. There’s lots of food places and little shops here, so we spent some time having a look in these. I spotted a Matsumoto Shave Ice, which I’d wanted to try but I was just too full. Instead we went to Coffee Gallery for some iced coffees. I got a Caramel Dream, which was a mixture of caramel and vanilla.




We decided to head back to the car with these and drive to Haleiwa Beach Park, that way we could drink them while enjoying the view. I really enjoyed taking this time just to stop and appreciate where we were.


From here, we drove back to the hotel, which took just under an hour and got ready for dinner. Tonight’s choice was Hard Rock Café; we always seem to go here at least once on our holidays. It was only a 5 min walk from the hotel and we got seated straight away. Mark went for the Grilled Chicken Mac 'n' Cheese with a bud light and I had the New York Strip with a Coke Zero.


We both really enjoyed the food as usual but I felt like the waiter was rushing us a bit and trying to get rid of us. Total cost was $65.85, plus tip. After dinner, we just headed back to the hotel after another busy day

Next: Day 5 – Pearl Harbor & Shopping
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Old 16 Nov 18, 06:59 AM  
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Melbatb
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Again some spectacular scenery and delicious looking food!
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Index of my trip reports
2016 Quebec - Kuala Lumpar - New York City 2017 Dubai - Eurocamps France - Ontario and Quebec - So-Cal 2018 Montreal - Bangkok - New England 2019 Argentina - Quebec City - Hong Kong - 2020 Switzerland 2022 Arizona - Costa Med Cruise - Oslo 2023 Hong Kong - Gothenburg
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Old 21 Nov 18, 09:41 PM  
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KarenG
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The scenery just gets better with each new corner you take, doesn’t it?

We have not done the ranch tour, but I definitely fancy the ATV option!
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