Movies

Thursday, 26th April


Back to last night, we attended a performance of “South Pacific” put on by a local group who perform the musical once a week. It was a very enjoyable presentation, with a few local references thrown in. The Frenchman and Nellie were extremely good – acted and sang very well.

Kauai has a feral chook problem – or wild chickens as the Americans call them! These chooks and roosters are literally everywhere (even in the resort) and have become somewhat of a tourist attraction in their own right.

This morning, after a wonderful sleep last night, it was on the road with a local bus tour company to visit some of the movie locations Kauai is famous for. The most notable would be “South Pacific” and “Jurassic Park,” along with over 500 others films and television shows. Unfortunately, I can’t remember, spell or pronounce many of the places we stopped at, but the first waterfall featured in quite a few, including “Fantasy Island.: A beach we visited (and the bus driver had trouble getting out of!) was the scene for the pilot of “Gilligan’s Island” and it was here that Cat found a driftwood shelter he was convinced Gilligan and Ginger slept in.

Some time was spent at the derelict Coco Palms Resort. This resort accommodated the stars of “South Pacific” and was the location of “Blue Hawaii.” We walked across the bridge that Elvis walked across, saw the dining room where he met his father, the bungalow he used in the film and also the bungalow he actually lived in during the filming. I can positively assure you that Elvis has definitely left the building!!! The coconut grove was also used as a location in “Pirates of the Caribbean.”

We drove past the large grassy plains which became Jurassic Park in the movie, before stopping for lunch at the Tahiti Tua Restaurant in Hanalei. George Clooney was in this restaurant in “The Descendants” but we didn’t get to sit in the main part (with all the atmosphere) but were ushered into a large, featureless room for our cheeseburgers, chicken or pork sandwiches – all served with fries, of course.

Then is was down to the beach of Hanalei for a look at the pier and beach which again featured in “South Pacific,” as well as “The Descendant.” Bali Hai was a mountain in the far distance. There were some pretty spectacular waterfalls on one of the high mountains ringing this beautiful bay – definitely the prettiest beach we saw today.

The island reminds us very much of far north Queensland, with its rainforest, steep mountains, climate and even the architecture.