Hukilau Cafe (Kaneohe, Oahu)

I totally wish this was a real cafe, but it’s just a set on a really gorgeous piece of property in Kaneohe, Oahu.  Apparently it was used in 50 First Dates as the Hukilau Cafe (I love that movie!) but it’s also been used in a couple other movies/shows as well.  (Sorry, the names all elude me now-but the surrounding areas have been used in Jurassic Park, Lost and Hawaii 5-0)

I love farm tours of all sorts and when we vacation I try and visit local farms whenever I can, so I read a little bit about this place here  and here and decided I really wanted to go.  I’m still a little unclear about who actually runs it because the Alii Garden and Fish Pond tour we went on and the Tropical Farms Nut store that you park at seem to be owned by different people and I think you can also do a similar tour run out of the ranch down the street.

The day we went, we pulled up at the store and were told the tours were closed for the day, but when we went around the store, we found a stand, paid for the tour and then got on a green bus.  (Don’t forget bug spray if bugs like you.  Within minutes they feasted on my forehead..ugh, my ankles, and everywhere.  I was a human sacrifice.)

We were the only people on the bus.  The driver stopped and picked us leaves from a “Ti” plant and showed us various local fruits and flowers. The boys were thrilled to be on a rickety, green bus and I was in awe of all the neat jungle-y plants.  Then we pulled up to what looked like a stage where a tour group was already waiting and chickens were running all around.

Not only were they going to let us ride on a bus, we were going to learn how to make fire.

And dance with it.

After the fire show, we learned how to crack a coconut and we all sampled the juice and fresh coconut meat.

Then we finished the tour with a boat ride with amazing views and snapped our best family picture in a while.

And then the bus returned us to where we began and the guides offered us fresh-off-the-tree bananas.  I didn’t really know what to expect going into this, but it was a phenomenal tour.  Just try and phone ahead to reserve a time or figure out their plan for the day, as it is really unpredictable when the tours run, and on Tuesdays the tour guides do a luau at the Ko Olina so there might only be one tour if any. (Except when they do the luaus on Thursdays instead, because we ran into them at our hotel and had a little surprise reunion. See what I mean? So definitely phone ahead.)

(This is part of Photo Friday on Deliciousbaby‘s link up, where you can see some really fabulous photos of other people’s trips, get some fantastic ideas and dream…..)

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