This guy loves driving with aloha. There’s something special here, the drivers really are more kind and patient.
Friday was our big day and we were excited!
First up, Kualoa Ranch UTV Raptor Tour!
We got there early and split an omelette, then got our safety briefing and got put into our groups.
We were in the second part of our group, and the second to last car. This will be important later.
It. Was. Amazing.
These are real WW2 bunkers that they built *after* Pearl Harbor.
There were 8 cars and we’d drive single file up and down and all around the ranch.
And then we’d stop and they’d tell us about the ranch or that specific location.
Sometimes it was got really dusty. I didn’t wear my buff the whole time and I literally had to wash my face with their hand soap 3 times and scrub with paper towels.
They film tons of tv and movies here - including 50 First Dates, Jumanji, and Lost.
Aaaand Jurassic World, shown below.
They have one tour that focuses on the Hollywood of it all. That would be fun to see.
Everywhere you look from the valley to the mountains to the ocean was just absolutely stunning.
Jumanji!!! She did say they manipulated the video and moved things like the ocean around, but that is the mountain.
Matts always got a dumb pose handy. 
Their sacred mountain - Kualoa. No one climbs this one because only the royal line can, and unfortunately that line has died out.
Okay so, our tour was for 2 hours. And about an hour and 45 minutes in, the caboose of our group slowed down to take a picture, and Matt and I were just slowly rolling along enjoying the views.
(More movie sites)
When all of a sudden we crest a little hill and find ourselves at a 4 way stop, and no one to be seen.
I’m telling the story as it doesn’t match the pictures (it will eventually) and I know I’m sharing way too many pics, it was just incredible.
Hawaiian village.
So we conferenced with the jeep behind us and we all sort of (the girls) decide to go to the right. And we drive a few minutes down that road and still see no one.
So we turned around and tried to the left.
And still we see no one.
We conference with our friends again, and the boys decide that if we’re lost anyway, we might as well enjoy it. So we drove around in search of someone who could help lead us back to the starting point.
Cattle ranch!
We’re still not lost yet, we’re actually at the old heli pad, here. 👇🏻
Chinamans hat! And they made us shaka. They made us shaka a lot.
Driving up up up.
And this was where it all went down. The Jurassic set.
And…
We’re lost.
Anyways, after about 15 minutes of driving, we actually made our way back to the Jurassic set, but this time inside it, no clue how.
And we finally came upon a worker giving a private movie tour.
He walkied the base ranch and while he waited for a response he told us we were the first to have this happen. We were told later by many different people that we were not, in fact, the first, so then we didn’t feel so dumb.
Can you tell I’m feeling anxious. I didn’t want to be in trouble and I definitely didn’t want our sweet tour guide to be in trouble.
The base camp sent someone to fetch us and our new employee friend told us we were welcome to get out and take pictures.
So of course we did.
And we explained what happened to the guy that came to show us the way back, which we never would have found on our own, but was actually the right road we had chosen first. It’s just that after that initial right turn, there were many many other twists and turns and we never would have found our way on our own.
Alls well that ends well. The other guide that had been with our group wasn’t too happy with us, but 🤷♀️. We honestly weren’t messing around and we really tried to find them. And both the lost jeeps gave our sweet guide Sydney a nice tip and she gave us hugs and apologized and we apologized and she assured us she didn’t get in trouble, so that’s all that matters.
And we had the best time. 10/10 recommend, even though we were legit lost for awhile there.
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