UTVing in Lihue, Hawaii

After a year of slaving away at our respective positions, us working types are entitled to a few weeks of downtime. A time to replace the hustle and bustle with a little thing I like to call sitting on our behinds. On paper, this should be a glorious occasion, but when the time comes to clock out, breathe deeply and embark to Snoozeville, our lives are quickly consumed by the daily grind of home maintenance. Knowing darn well this was going to happen to me, I booked the first flight out to Oahu, Hawaii, for 10 days of basking in the sunlight and frolicking with the local talent in the Pacific Ocean. Two days later, my lobster red skin scared away the locals, and I was soon bored out of my mind.

The next morning, I was on a shuttle to North Shore to sign my life away. I was told that the most exciting thing to do on Oahu was to board an airplane, fly up to 15,000 feet and huck yourself out of it. The flight up was the best part about skydiving in Oahu. My stomach was trembling, and my hands were clammy. There was an unusual calmness in the plane. It was similar to the feeling one gets at the starting line waiting for the gate to drop. Time seemed to have halted, and there was nothing else to do but to reflect. What the heck am I doing jumping out of a perfectly good aircraft?! Moments after my late mental discovery, the skydiving jump instructor put out his cigarette, popped the door latch and nudged me to go. After a brief 60-second free fall, and a few minutes of floating above the world, I realized that my $200 could have been put to better use. Later that afternoon, I took off on another aircraft. This time, landing safely on board at the Lihue Airport on the Island of Kauai. A 30-minute cab ride later, I was riding quads and driving UTVs through the beautiful Kipu Ranch. Finally, I found some real excitement.

Kipu Ranch is a working cattle ranch spread over 3,000 acres and features some of the most scenic ATV trails in the country. No joke, these views had me stopping my tracks to take it all in. They’re equipped with a wide range of ATV and UTV rentals, including a fresh shipment of Kawasaki Brute Force 700s and Teryx4s. You may also choose between Can-Am’s Outlander 400 or two-up Outlander XT, Yamaha’s Rhino and a couple of Polaris Rangers. There are few tours to choose from, including a three-hour Ranch & Mountain Tour ($125 per person), a four-hour Waterfall Tour ($150 per person), a VIP Tour (call for pricing) and a private tour option with groups of six or more (call for pricing). Each tour winds through the diverse landscape that makes Kipu Ranch one of the top ecotour locations in Hawaii with breathtaking tropical landscape and views of famous Kipu Kai and Hule’ia rivers. The tour includes instruction and practice for beginners as well as some fun, more challenging terrain for more experienced riders. The Mountain Tour takes you through some awesome Hollywood movie locations for Jurassic Park, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Outbreak, Mighty Joe Young, The Descendants and Pirates of the Caribbean. The Waterfalls Tour is perfect for those looking for more challenging terrain as well as the adventure of hiking to and swimming in a private, spring-fed waterfall.

It’s hard to imagine having a better vacation than my recent trip to Hawaii. Lying on the beach for a solid 10 days would have been relaxing for most, but I needed to have a dose of adrenaline for my trip to be complete. Skydiving was an interesting experience, but when my friends ask me what I did in Hawaii, my first response was how much fun I had riding ATVs and driving UTVs through Kauai’s Kipu Ranch.