Chances are you’ve seen Kualoa Ranch, even if you’ve never heard the name. It has served as the filming location for hundreds of movies and TV shows, and they fully lean into their identity of Hollywood’s “Hawaii backlot” when it comes to attracting tourists. [1] Among those who visit to see iconic locations from much-beloved pieces of popular culture, there is a miniscule, fractional percentage of people who are there because they watched – and loved – the TV show “Lost.” [2] I didn’t have much time for tourism on Oahu after my week with the climate lab was over, but if I was going to do one thing on that island, this was going to be it – and for me, it was nothing less than a pilgrimage. (Note: I am wearing my Drive Shaft t-shirt while writing this post. [3])
Photo credit: Christian Korey
“We have to go back!”
“Lost” was a cultural phenomenon in the early 2000s. Its part-sci-fi, part-mystery, part-drama, part-adventure premise following a group of plane crash survivors on a mysterious island grabbed the attention of millions of viewers for at least the first few of its six seasons on ABC. The show’s diverse, ensemble cast grappled with immediate concerns of cooperation and survival on a weekly basis, while the show itself explored philosophy and morality through a never-ending series of supernatural occurrences. I was hooked after one episode.
My friend Arthur introduced me to the show after it had already been out for two years. We binge-watched the first season in one weekend, and then we followed up with all of season two the following weekend. Seasons three and four aired while I lived in Japan, and friends and I would gather once a week to watch it together. In between episodes, I followed along with internet commentaries and fan theories, alternate reality games, [5] and Wikipedia rabbit holes related to topics mentioned in the show. Much of the show remains critically acclaimed (though there is some debate about later seasons and the controversial final episode), and it was widely considered to have revolutionized TV – or at least network TV – with huge production values, serialization, and non-linear storytelling. [6]
Image credit: [7]
With the exception of a few scenes shot in Los Angeles and London, “Lost” was filmed exclusively on Oahu, using beaches, jungles, World War II bunkers, and cities to serve as various locations on the mysterious island and around the globe, as depicted in character-driven backstories. And we got to see a few of those locations on Kualoa Ranch’s “Hollywood Movie Sites” tour, [8] which also featured locations from the “Jurassic Park” franchise, “Kong,” “Godzilla,” “Jumanji,” “50 First Dates,” and more. And don’t get me wrong – I adore “Jurassic Park” (just the one); I consider it to be a perfect movie (as do the folks over at Collider [9]), but it’s not what was on my mind while we were there.
Behind the Scenes
The tour (and our driver, who was from Hau’ula! [10]) were even better than I expected. In addition to photo opportunities of familiar sights from shows and movies filmed there, we got to learn more about the history of the ranch as we drove through. Given the deep pockets of many Hollywood initiatives, I incorrectly assumed that that was the primary revenue driver for the property. In reality, Kualoa Ranch, which spans 3,800 acres, is actually a working ranch. Its team, led by sixth-generation steward John Morgan, oversees a range of activities including agritourism, education, regenerative agriculture, and habitat conservation… with events and film shoots making up a small part of what they actually do there.
Photo credit: Christian Korey
Their KualoaGrown brand for locally produced, responsibly raised food includes beef, pork, shrimp, oysters, eggs, fruits, vegetables, and cacao. (A quick note: global chocolate production is rife with worker exploitation and child labor, but that is a subject for another time. [11] Suffice it to say, I wasn’t even aware cacao plants could grow in the United States – indeed, they can’t in 49 of them – so I was excited to try chocolate that I knew would be subject to a host of labor laws from start to finish. It was delicious.) Kualoa Ranch partners with over 60 local farms and food producers, and in 2023 they expanded their local farmer’s market operations from four to seven days a week, bringing in $1.2 million in revenue. [12]
I was very excited to learn about this critical piece of the local food economy, which I’m sure is not something many tourists are thinking about as they arrive at “the place where Jurassic Park was filmed.” (Fun fact: only one iconic scene in the original “Jurassic Park” was filmed on Oahu, which was necessary after Hurricane Iniki battered the island of Kauai.) Had I known about (or noticed) their sustainable agriculture tour on their website, [13] I absolutely would have suggested signing up for that one (after we were done with the movie tour, of course), but I was glad to at least get a quick spin through their agricultural facilities before heading into “Jurassic Valley.” As it was, we had originally scheduled a second tour with Kualoa Ranch: a catamaran cruise around Kaneohe Bay (where I believe we would have seen more “Lost” locations, such as the submarine dock), but rough winds resulted in a canceled tour.
I was sad not to get any time on the water while we were on Oahu. Christian didn’t either, despite having the whole week to himself while I was in class. During that time, rough wind and waves limited most snorkeling, scuba, and boating options for tourists but made the Lexus Pipe Pro surfing competition extra exciting. [14] While we didn’t get to do the bay tour, we filled the remainder of our last day on the island exploring a macadamia nut stand, [15] a poi stand, [16] a craft brewery, [17] and a craft distillery, [18] before one last night out with classmates of mine who stuck around for the weekend.
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The following morning, we would head to Maui, and there will be a post about that experience next week. But for now, have you been to Oahu? What did you do and see while you were there? I’d love to hear about your adventures in the comments below.
Thanks for reading!
[1] https://www.kualoa.com/toursactivities/movie-sites-ranch-tour-2/
[2] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0411008/
[3] https://lostpedia.fandom.com/wiki/Drive_Shaft
[4] https://lostpedia.fandom.com/wiki/DHARMA_Initiative
[5] https://lostpedia.fandom.com/wiki/The_Lost_Experience
[6] https://screenrant.com/lost-revolutionized-influenced-inspired-tv/
[7] https://www.gohawaii.com/islands/oahu/regions/windward-coast/kualoa-nature-reserve
[8] https://www.kualoa.com/toursactivities/movie-sites-ranch-tour-2/
[9] https://collider.com/25-movies-that-are-perfect/
[10] https://radicalmoderate.online/climate-lab-hawaii-in-the-field-continued/
[11] https://foodispower.org/human-labor-slavery/slavery-chocolate/
[12] https://www.kualoa.com/impact-report/
[13] https://www.kualoa.com/toursactivities/taste-of-kualoa-farm-tour/
[14] https://www.worldsurfleague.com/events/2024/ct/196/lexus-pipe-pro/main
[15] https://macnutfarm.com/index.php
[16] https://www.waiaholepoifactory.com/
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