Kualoa is a private nature reserve and working cattle ranch, as well as a popular tourist attraction and filming location on the

windward Windward () and leeward () are terms used to describe the direction of the wind. Windward is ''upwind'' from the point of reference, i.e. towards the direction from which the wind is coming; leeward is ''downwind'' from the point of reference ...

coast of

Oahu Oahu () ( Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of O� ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

. It is about from Honolulu, and from Haleiwa. The ranch consists of 3 valleys: Kaaawa Valley, Kualoa Valley, and Hakipuu Valley. The ranch is located on Hawaii State Route 83 between Kaaawa and Waikane. The main street address is 49-560 Kamehameha Highway, Kāneohe, Hawaii 96744.

History

The valley was sacred to ancient Hawaiians from the 13th to the 18th century, as Chief Laa-mai-kahiki settled there after visiting Kauai before returning to

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austra ...

. It was also the site of the sacred drums of Kapahuula and Kaahuulapunawai as well as the sacred Hill of Kauakahiakahoowaha, the key to the sovereignty of the

Kingdom of Oahu Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * Kingdom (British TV series), ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 200 ...

. 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 and missionary Dr.

Gerrit P. Judd Gerrit Parmele Judd (April 23, 1803 – July 12, 1873) was an American physician and missionary to the Kingdom of Hawaii who later renounced his American citizenship and became a trusted advisor and cabinet minister to King Kamehameha III. He ...

purchased 622 acres of ranch land at Kualoa for $1300, and also the island of Mokolii 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 4000 acres of land. In 1863 Charles Judd and his brother-in-law

Samuel Gardner Wilder Samuel Gardner Wilder (June 20, 1831 – July 28, 1888) was an American shipping magnate and politician who developed a major transportation company in the Kingdom of Hawaii. Life Samuel Gardner Wilder was born June 20, 1831, in Leominster, ...

started a sugarcane

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

and built a sugar mill at the ranch. Several years of low rainfall brought sugar farming to a close, and the mill closed in 1870. The ruins of the old sugar mill can still be seen along

Kamehameha Highway Kamehameha Highway is one of the main highways serving suburban and rural O‘ahu in the U.S. state of Hawai‘i. Informally known as Kam Highway, it begins at Nimitz Highway near Pearl Harbor and Hickam Air Force Base in Honolulu, serves the ...

. In 1941 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the U.S. military occupied the land, which became the site of

Kualoa Airfield Kualoa Airfield is a former wartime airfield on Oahu, Hawaii. Part of it is now the Kualoa Regional Park Kualoa Regional Park is located at Kāneʻohe Bay, on the island of Oahu in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The park covers across the road from t ...

. After the war the ranch was returned to the Morgan family, the owners and descendants of Dr. Judd. The entire '' ahupuaa'' (traditional land division of

ancient Hawaii Ancient Hawaii is the period of Hawaiian history preceding the unification in 1810 of the Kingdom of Hawaii by Kamehameha the Great. Traditionally, researchers estimated the first settlement of the Hawaiian islands as having occurred sporadicall ...

) was added to the

National Register of Historic Places listings in Oahu __NOTOC__ This is a list of properties and districts on the Hawaiian island of Oahu that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Oahu is the only major island in Honolulu County. The location of the city of Honolulu, Oahu is the m ...

as the Kualoa Ahupuaa Historical District, site 74000718 on October 16, 1974. With From 1993 to 1998, the ranch hosted Hawaii's first major

rock festival A rock festival is an open-air rock concert featuring many different performers, typically spread over two or three days and having a campsite and other amenities and forms of entertainment provided at the venue. Some festivals are singular even ...

, the

Big Mele The Big Mele was an annual rock festival on Oahu, Hawaii, from 1993 to 1999. For its first six years, the concert was held at Kualoa Ranch on the island's Windward Side. The final concert was held at Turtle Bay Resort, then known as the Turtle Ba ...

, since the Diamond Head Crater Festivals held on New Years Day from 1969 to 1978.

Activities

Horse ride around the Kualoa Ranch trails

The property continues to be a working cattle ranch and is run by John Morgan from the island of Hawaii. Kualoa is open for guided tours and tours on horseback. In 2018, the ranch was raising shrimp and making it available, as local lunch cuisine, to visitors.

In popular culture

More than 79 movies and TV shows have been filmed at Kualoa over the years, including ''

Paradise, Hawaiian Style ''Paradise, Hawaiian Style'' is a 1966 American musical comedy film starring Elvis Presley. It was the third and final motion picture that Presley filmed in Hawaii. The film reached #40 on the ''Variety'' weekly box office chart, earning $2.5 mill ...

'', '' Jurassic Park'', '' Jurassic World'', '' Mighty Joe Young'', ''

50 First Dates ''50 First Dates'' is a 2004 American romantic comedy drama film directed by Peter Segal and starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore with Rob Schneider, Sean Astin and Dan Aykroyd in supporting roles. It follows the story of Henry, a womanizing ...

'', ''

You, Me and Dupree ''You, Me and Dupree'' is a 2006 American comedy film directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo and written by Mike LeSieur. It stars Owen Wilson, Kate Hudson, Matt Dillon, Seth Rogen, Amanda Detmer, Todd Stashwick, and Michael Douglas. The film ...

'', ''

Hawaii Five-0 Hawaii Five-O or Hawaii Five-0 may refer to: * Hawaii Five-0 (2010 TV series), ''Hawaii Five-0'' (2010 TV series), an American action police procedural television series * Hawaii Five-O (1968 TV series), ''Hawaii Five-O'' (1968 TV series), an Ame ...

'', ''

Magnum P.I. ''Magnum, P.I.'' is an American crime drama television series starring Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, a private investigator (P.I.) living on Oahu, Hawaii. The series ran from December 11, 1980 to May 8, 1988 during its first-run broadcast on th ...

'', ''

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the R ...

'', ''

Windtalkers ''Windtalkers'' is a 2002 American war film directed and co-produced by John Woo, starring Nicolas Cage, Adam Beach, Peter Stormare, Noah Emmerich, Mark Ruffalo, and Christian Slater. It is based on the real story of Navajo code talkers during ...

'', ''

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film '' Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films prod ...

'', '' Kong: Skull Island'', ''

Jumanji ''Jumanji'' is a 1995 American fantasy adventure film directed by Joe Johnston from a screenplay by Jonathan Hensleigh, Greg Taylor, and Jim Strain. Loosely based on Chris Van Allsburg's picture book of the same name, the film is the first ...

'', '' Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle'', '' Snatched'', and ''

Lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

''. The Secret Island, located within the ranch, served as the Finish Line for ''

The Amazing Race 20 ''The Amazing Race 20'' is the twentieth season of the American reality television show ''The Amazing Race''. It featured eleven teams of two competing in a race around the world. The season premiered on CBS on Sunday, February 19, 2012, and th ...

'', which aired on May 6, 2012. A few months later, Secret Island appeared as the site of a

Pit Stop In motorsports, a pit stop is a pause for refuelling, new tyres, repairs, mechanical adjustments, a driver change, as a penalty, or any combination of the above. These stops occur in an area called the pits, most commonly accessed via a pit lan ...

on the French version of ''

The Amazing Race ''The Amazing Race'' is an adventure reality game show franchise in which teams of two people race around the world in competition with other teams. The ''Race'' is split into legs, with teams tasked to deduce clues, navigate themselves in forei ...

''.

References

External links

Hawaii Film Office
interview article with Terence Chang, producer of Windtalkers
Kualoa Ranch
Official website
Sunset Ranch Menus
Ranch Menus {{Authority control Buildings and structures in Honolulu County, Hawaii Ranches in Hawaii Tourist attractions in Honolulu County, Hawaii 1860 establishments in Hawaii National Register of Historic Places in Honolulu County, Hawaii

History

Activities

In popular culture

See also

References

External links