Today, we booked the 3 hours Ultimate Ranch ATV tours with Kipu Ranch Adventures (235 Kipu Road, Lihue, HI 96766). There are 3 different times to select: 7:00 am, 9:30am and 1:30pm.
We picked the 9:30am slot as we plan to attend the Luau Kalamaku at Kilohana Plantation at night. This will gives us some time to rest in the afternoon after the ATV tour before we need to go to our Luau.
While driving to Kipu ranch, it was raining pretty heavily and I was worried that we are not going to be able to have a good time there. Luckily, the rain became smaller when we reached the office. I had prepared ahead of time our ponchos, so we didn't have to buy from the office.
After we check in, we had to sign some forms and get the wristband to differentiate between drivers and riders. The driver has the orange band and the rider has the purple band. This is one of the few ATV companies that allows kids from age 7 and up to ride. The ATV company in Oahu only allows kids from age 17 and up. Luckily, Maddie turned 7 last December, so we were all able to experience the ATV.
We went to get our helmet and bandanna. Usually googles are provided as well but since it was raining, the guide said that it will be foggy if we wear the googles, so we should just use our sunglasses. He mentioned that we don't have to wear the bandanna since it's wet so there won't be any dust flying. However, he was only partially right. It turns out that the water on the floor was splashing all over our face, so we quickly put on the bandanna to cover our nose and mouth.
It's our first time on the ATV and it's so fun. The guide was funny and showed us different sites where Jurassic Park was shot.
First, they let the driver have a dry run at the parking lot and after that, we started our journey. Since we have a big group, there was a guide in the front and another guide at the end to make sure none of us get lost.
We stopped at our first stop where the guide showed us the site of where they shot Jurasic Park. He also went over the brief history of the ranch. The ranch is about 6000 acres and Princess Ruth Ke'elikolani sold the land to the Rice family for $3000 in 1872, which is $0.50/acres. Her condition for selling the land was for the Rice family not to develop this land and to keep it in their family.
Since it rained a lot last night and this morning, the floor was really wet and slippery. The guide went over the safety rules. There were some routes that were really steep and bumpy. The kids really love that as they felt that they were going over roller coaster.
What do you see on the mountain in the picture below? The top 2 answers were Mr. Simpson holding a beer can and Casper.
We also made a stop at the site where Harrison Ford shot "Indiana Jones". Anthony even tried swinging on the rope that Harrison Ford used in the movie. We were not allowed to jump into the river as it was low tide and the water was not high enough.
Next we had to climb a steep hill to get to the highest elevation of the ride where it's also the most scenic stopover. It was a little scary to go up as the road was narrow and there was no guard rail on the side. The guide warned the driver to not look down to enjoy the nice view while driving in case they lose their concentration and car.
The beach in the below picture is privately owned by the owners of the Kipu Ranch. The owners do not live there and they have a full team of housekeepers to maintain the property there. The beach can only be reached by kayak or boat. Since it's a burial ground of native fighters during the battle, the boat/kayak are not supposed to go onto the sand. They have to be tied some distance away.
After the ride, we went for lunch and returned to the hotel. We promised the kids to let them go on the big slide at the hotel, so we spent an hour there before returning to our room to get ready for the Luau.
We drove to Kilohana Plantation for the Luau which is about 25 minutes away from our hotel.
Laua Kalamaku @ Kilohana Plantation
The Luau is only offer on Tuesday and Friday nights. There are different types of options that you can select for the Luau. The one that we select is just for the Luau which does not include the train ride. The check in time for the Luau is at 5pm and ends around 8:30pm.
First we check in to the front desk to get our table number. Then we were all greeted with fresh orchid leis for girls and seashell necklace for boys. Afterwards, we took pictures with their performers and were shown to our table.
Once we got to our table, we were invited to the open bar and walked around to check out the different vendors they have on site selling local arts and crafts. We were also served some salad and appetizers.
At around 6:15pm, they started the IMU ceremony where the performer light up the fire and blow the conch shell.
Then, they uncovered the pig that has been cooking for many hours.
After the ceremony, we were asked to return to our table to wait for our turn to go to the buffet table. They have quite a variety of food and my favorite is the purple yam. It's so sweet.
While eating, the performers started performing. We had a break after that before the theatrical show started. At this time, we went to grab some desserts. My favorite was the Haupia (coconut) dessert.
After it ended, we stayed for a while to take a picture with the performers before heading back to our hotel.
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