Day 8: Kualoa Ranch

What a day! Friday was such an incredible day ( : John and I got up early to go to Kualoa Ranch. We thought often about how much the children would like certain activities and things there, but thoroughly enjoyed being able to complete some activities we could not have done with them. The area is beautiful, with lush jungle foliage and tall mountains surrounding you, and turquoise ocean waters encompassing the rest. Just gorgeous. We did an ATV tour first, and really liked it. When the kids are teens, it would be fun to do more of that ( : After relaxing a bit, we went on a catamaran tour to Chinaman's hat, and learned about the legend surrounding it, and the local ecosystem. The boat ride was rather fun, and we had the opportunity to see lots of little sea turtles feeding in the coral. After a delicious lunch we went on a horseback tour. It was the highlight of the day. John and I would love to get horses in the future, and spend more time working with them. The excitement came when riding up a narrow mountain trail we began to pass a small tractor. The horses were getting skittish, so the driver pulled to the side and stopped. Unfortunately, his tractor then began slipping down, because of a brake malfunction. So, the horses panicked and turned to run down the slope in a stampede. Luckily everyone kept their wits, the tractor stopped and there was a happy ending. As the guide said, not everyone can say they've survived a stampede in Hawaii! After that excitement the rest of the day was pretty mellow. We took a legends tour and learned more about the local legend, culture, and politics pre-European contact. Apparently it is a boring topic, as John and I were the only ones, so we had 2 on one attention, which was nice.

We ended the day with yummy food, free drinks (virgin of course), the whirlpool, a free concert we could hear in our room, and fireworks. It was a lovely way to spend the last night in Paradise!