Maybe your grandmother hits the road in Hummers, snorkeling with sharks, hiking to the edge of active lava flows, and riding horses on cattle ranches, but not mine. At least she didn’t before doing some amazing Hawaii tours with me. Touring in Hawaii today is not the touring of yesterday. Gone are the days spent riding the bus to Hilo Hatties and weaving baskets out of Hala leaves. It’s not that these activities don’t have some merit and fun involved. But today’s Hawaii tours are all about extreme adventure, extreme excitement, and extreme fun.
Today, on the island of Oahu, you can be picked up from your hotel in a Hummer and driven about an hour north of Honolulu to Kualoa Ranch. Kualoa’s 4,000 acres were once the abode of kings, and this land is considered some of the holiest and most sacred on Oahu.
The scenery looks like something out of a movie set, and in fact, many movies and TV shows were shot here. Jurassic Park and Lost were filmed here and, in fact, some of the terrain is so rugged and remote that you almost expect to see a T-Rex appear in the rear view mirror of your ATV. Estancia Kualoa can also be explored in all-terrain vehicles and on horseback
If the thrill of the water is more your thing, then swimming and snorkeling with sharks may be just what you’re looking for. Prepare to travel by boat three miles from the famous North Shore on Oahu and prepare to enter a cage made of steel bars and insulated glass.
In this cage you will come face to face with Sandbar or Galapagos sharks that stretch three times the length of your average grandmother. It’s an extreme thrill without the real danger. Swimming, snorkeling and diving alongside these incredible creatures is unparalleled.
Standing on the edge of a molten lava flow and feeling the force of 2,000 degrees of active volcanic heat is a humbling experience, to say the least. Hawaii is a place of great beauty and serenity, but it was also created from great natural violence. Seeing this force up close and personal, whether on the ground or in the air, is impressive. It’s like being in the center of the earth and seeing the tectonic plates move. Or like watching a meteorite fall. Basketry has none of this.
See tours of Hawaii like never before. Get your adrenaline pumping, your blood racing and your heart pounding. Embrace the adventure. Explore the depths of Hawaii’s oceans and the heights of Hawaii’s skies. Look deep into the abyss of a volcano and you will know that you are alive.
My grandmother did.
