A guided tour taking about four hours and covering 23 miles of back roads and trails through tunnels, forests and farm/range lands. Includes visits to a waterfall along with beautiful landscapes where parts of Hollywood productions including Jurassic Park, Pirates of the Caribbean, Seven Days and Seven Nights, among others, were filmed.
Wear a swimsuit and water-friendly shoes/sandals, and bring a towel. They’ll provide a freshly laundered shirt and riding shorts to absorb most of the dust and some of the mud. You’ll also receive a helmet, goggles and a great bandana that can serve as a mask over your nose and mouth. They have dressing rooms, toilets and lockers at the starting (and finishing) point.
Depending on weather you may experience splashing water, mud, dust, debris and other fun stuff. I experienced a “mini” exposure while doing a site visit recently and made it through unscathed wearing one of their shirts over my clothes and camera. If I were on the full trip I expect I would have come away considerably more dirty.
I don’t recommend taking expensive cameras on this trip – very bumpy and potentially very dusty, wet or muddy. Their motto is “Do Something Dirty” and they mean it (in the nicest way). Plenty of pretty things to photograph, but phone photo should meet your needs.
A deli lunch with a local snack and beverage will be provided and you’ll get some history, geography, geology and Hollywood information from the guides while on your journey. You’ll have time to frolic in a freshwater mountain pool at the base of Mount Kahili before returning to the starting point at the old sugar mill.
They provide a variety of ATV’s. The Mud Bunny is a single passenger vehicle (the driver) for those going solo. The Mud Bug is for a driver and passenger, and the Ohana Bug is for a driver and 3 passengers. There are two types of Mud Bugs available, the fancy and colorful model imported from China, and the plain utility models that are imported from Israel.
My experience was in the Israeli model and it was a blast. Noisy and a bit dusty, it handled the dirt roads and trails beautifully and was surprisingly comfortable. Be forewarned, however, this in not recommended for people with bad backs or those concerned about keeping clean and tidy. Should you be pregnant I strongly suggest a different excursion.
Transfers from and return to the hotel are included, and only about 10 minutes away so your time is spent playing rather than driving to and from the location.
Do Something Dirty!
Don Klingborg, DVM
