Oahu, Hawaii: A Day at the Dole Plantation

Being a food enthusiast, I HAD to visit the Dole pineapple farm in Oahu. Ben and I found out about the place from a postcard in a shop and decided to make the drive up there from Waikiki on one of our vacation days. The farm is located northwards of the island and away from the beaches. Upon arrival, I noticed that the farm looks like a miniature theme park/petting zoo (except without the animals).

We bought tickets to see all of the tours (the pineapple train, garden, and pineapple maze) since we really had no idea what to expect. We started our trip with none other than eating pineapple soft serve at the market! I had seen pictures of my friends munching on the soft serve here before and was excited to finally be able to try it. The soft serve ice cream was decent in size and definitely had an intense pineapple taste.

We continued onto the park with the pineapple train ride, which gave us a 20 minute tour and history of the pineapple industry of Hawaii. The train goes right through parts of the farm where tourists can see different types of trees and produce. There are signs telling you what type of plants each section had. It was amazing seeing how some fruits grow… like how many bananas are bunched up in the trees or the size of the coconuts. Seeing how a pineapple grows was also a new experience to me since I originally thought they grew on tall trees. 

Surprised by the pods of bananas in the trees

After the train tour, Ben and I strolled through the gardens and fed the fish. There is an audio tour throughout the garden that describes many of the plants and their historical significance to the Hawaiian natives. Lastly, we went through the pineapple maze which is a very large in size. There are a series of clues you have to find in order to finish the task. However with the sun glaring in midday, we gave up the maze hunt and parted for some beach time instead.

The intense fish that fought for our food