Kualoa Private Nature Reserve is located on the island of O’ahu in Hawai’i. On 16 October 1974, it was inscribed on the National Register of Historic Places due to its political and religious significance. Today, the Reserve offers a diverse array of tourist experiences. Considering the location has been used for quite a few Hollywood films, it does attract a lot of tourism. To help manage the negative environemntal impacts caused by high tourist numbers, it was great to hear that the Reserve is engaged with multiple cultural and community sustainability initiatives. For example, there is a conservation program that sees volunteers remove invasive plant and fish species from their 800 year old ancient Hawaiian Moli`i fishpond. There is also a guarantee in place that there will be no property development on the site. Read More »

On our final day in Honolulu we visisted the stunning Ioalni Palace located in the Capitol District near Downtown Honolulu. The palace was built in 1882 by King Kalakaua and served as home for the last reigning monarchs of Hawai’i. In 1962, the palace was registered as a National Historic Landmark and is the only royal residence in the United States.  Visiting both the Bishop Museum and Iolani Palace truly allowed us to gain a much deeper understanding of Hawai’i, its culture and its history.Read More »

As well as swimming at Waikiki Beach and enjoying the amazing food, I really wanted to visit a couple of museums and heritage places in Honolulu. The Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum (aka Bishop Museum) is the State Museum of Natural and Cultural History. Primarily, I wanted to visit to learn a bit more about the history of Hawaii. In particular, how it became a state of America. This post is going to cover both a temporary exhibition currently on display titled Unreal: Hawai’i in Popular Imagination and highlights from the Bishop Museum’s permanent collection.Read More »