Lights, camera, paradise on Kauai
By Eric Noland
Travel Editor

LIHUE, Kauai - It has been a stand-in for South America, Zaire, Australia, Vietnam and countless locales in the South Seas. It has provided romance, adventure, danger - and sometimes all three - for thespians as diverse as Harrison Ford, John Wayne, Mitzi Gaynor, Elvis Presley and Sarah Jessica Parker.

Whenever Hollywood's filmmakers need a wild, exotic tropical land, they often look no further than Kauai.

And that makes sense. This is the oldest of the primary islands in the Hawaiian chain, and as such it offers a primordial landscape of dagger-like volcanic protrusions blanketed with vegetation, dense jungle on the slopes of rain-drenched Mount Waialeale, tumbling waterfalls and arguably the most beautiful and secluded beaches in the islands.

This was where Indiana Jones searched for a precious golden idol. It was where the dinosaurs of Jurassic Park tested their restraints. It's where love blossomed in an enchanted land following countless plane crashes and shipwrecks.

More than six dozen movies or TV projects have been filmed on the island over the past 70 years, and many of the locations are readily accessible to the film-buff visitor.

You can either hook up with a formal tour or do a little poking around on your own. And even if you aren't that excited about the movies, most of the sites are appealing in their own right. Would you expect anything less when Hollywood filmmakers are endeavoring to stoke the fires of fantasy?

The movie subjects have captivated many a visitor to the island. The 1958 World War II musical "South Pacific," perhaps the best-known of Kauai's movies, was filmed on the north shore, near the quaint town of Hanalei. A clerk at Hanalei Video & Music said, "We didn't have it in here for a while, and I thought we were going to have riots."

It was amusing to note that the store also carried well-worn tapes of otherwise forgettable movies like "Donovan's Reef" (1963) and "Pagan Love Song" (1950). You guessed it: Both are loaded with Kauai images.

If the thought of stumbling around the island looking for film locations is daunting, Hawaii Movie Tours is the answer. It offers three excursions: coastal ($95), 4X4 ($113) and helicopter (offered in conjunction with one of the land tours; mid-$200s).

One of the advantages of seeing Kauai in this manner is that the tour company has contracted with private landowners to gain access to sites not open to the general public.

On the six-hour off-road tour, for example, our group bounced along a rutted road on the Kipu Ranch, near Lihue. It was here, in "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981), that Ford as Indiana Jones outraced South American tribesmen and ultimately swung on a vine to a seaplane waiting on a river. A rope hangs from a tree at the same spot, and tour patrons can swing out over the river (but not drop in), just like Indy.

Another stop on the tour is the Coco Palms Resort, a storied 1950s complex that was pounded so mercilessly by Hurricane Iniki in 1992 that it has been shuttered ever since.

It was at the Coco Palms that Elvis Presley's character decided to chuck Daddy's pineapple business and live a life of ease as an island tour guide in "Blue Hawaii" (1961).

With our guide carefully directing us around various hazards - ceiling fans dangling by electrical cords, coconuts plummeting as deadly missiles from unkempt palm trees on the grounds - we wandered past the decrepit pool, through the thatch-ceiling bar to the lagoon, where the movie's climactic wedding scene undoubtedly inspired many women to plan their marriage ceremonies for the islands.

Another nice attribute of the two land tours is that the vans are equipped with video monitors, and scenes of various movies are screened just before you get a look at the actual movie site.

That's a lot of fun, and it has the added benefit of sparing you the chore of sitting through some of the low-budget duds that have been filmed here over the years. Do you really want to walk into your video store and ask for "She Gods of Shark Reef," "Voodoo Island," "Death Moon" or "The Seven Women From Hell"?

Our guide, Chelsea Loughead, displayed an impressive grasp of Kauai film lore, and regularly peppered her commentary with lively observations and anecdotes.

Hollywood's tendency to take liberties with geography was noted. As we pulled up to Opaekaa Falls, for example, we watched Jack Lemmon in a scene from "The Wackiest Ship in the Army" (1961), and when the characters turn to take in the view, they're suddenly gazing into Waimea Canyon - which is on the other side of the island, some 20 miles away.

We also heard about how filmmaker Steven Spielberg was staying at the Kauai Marriott Resort during the filming of "Jurassic Park" (1993) when Hurricane Iniki hit. Up to the roof he went with a camera operator, and got some footage of wind-whipped waves crashing over the breakwater of Nawiliwili Bay. That scene made it into the movie.

A picnic lunch is included on the tour, and it was taken at idyllic Hanamaulu Beach Park - yes, the bay is yet another film location. On the van's video screen, Lee Marvin is seen wading ashore to a throng of adoring Polynesians in "Donovan's Reef."

One tip for anyone taking this tour: Get an early claim on one of the forward bench seats. The van seats 10 tour customers, but the back seat is in the rear-most cargo area, and there are no air conditioning registers in sight. Not so much as a breath of air made it back there, and it was a sweltering place to sit - the torture only enhanced by the sight of cool trade winds blowing briskly outside the closed windows of the van.

If you're averse to the whole idea of being herded around in a tour bus, an independent exploration of Kauai's movie locations can be readily executed.

You might want to make a couple of investments before you set out. The first is a good road map - not the one that comes with the rental car guide. Stop by one of the ubiquitous ABC convenience stores for a reference map of Kauai (University of Hawaii Press; $3.95). You won't be able to find Gilligan's beach without this. Another resource is "The Kauai Movie Book" (Mutual Publishing; from $22.95 in soft cover). It has information and photos of Kauai movies, though it is desperately in need of an update (more than a dozen movies have been shot here since its only edition was released in 1996).

Drive all the way to the end of the road on the north shore (Highway 56) to begin your excursion, because this side of the island was particularly fertile ground for film locales.

At Kee Beach, at the end of the road, Richard Chamberlain's Father Ralph floated in on a boat to, ahem, comfort Rachel Ward's Meggie in the TV miniseries "The Thorn Birds" (1983). It was supposed to be an island on Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Meggie's dwelling is up on the hillside next to the cove, although signs are posted everywhere to keep away from it.

Retracing your route back down the highway, stop at Haena Beach Park and wander a quarter mile up the beach to your right. At Tunnels Beach (there is no sign identifying it), the wanton night festival on the island of Bali Hai was staged in "South Pacific." Also, Kathleen Turner showed no signs of remorse while lounging here at the end of "Body Heat" (1981). With the craggy points of Makana in the distance (universally called Bali Hai today), Tunnels is one of the most alluring beaches on Kauai.

The Hanalei Bay region is also rich with "South Pacific" sites. Mitzi Gaynor washed the man right out of her hair at Lumahai Beach, a tricky- to-find cove just east of the bay. The sailors cavorted on the beach at Hanalei Bay, at the foot of a concrete pier that still stands. And if you're curious about the romantic, scenic terrace where Rossano Brazzi romanced Gaynor, the closest approximation you'll find is the outdoor cafe at the Princeville Resort, on the bluff overlooking the bay. The prices are steep here, but the view is sensational.

Less than a mile past the Princeville Airport, turn left down Kalihiwai Road to find Tommy Korman's enchanting beach hideaway from "Honeymoon in Vegas" (1992). Remember when James Caan literally slides back the walls to let the breezes waft through the bedroom Sarah Jessica Parker is to have? The house is here at Anini Beach.

On Kalihiwai Road, take the left fork and proceed down a ruddy road to a lovely stretch of reef-sheltered beach. Park at the beach park and walk up the beach to the right. The "Honeymoon" house is the second one; observe it from the beach to respect the occupants' privacy.

As you head toward Kapaa, watch for mile marker 20, and turn left at Koolau Road. Take another left onto Moloaa Road, then turn right at the "No Outlet" sign to a small parking area. A few steps away, at Moloaa Beach, Gilligan and the gang shipwrecked in 1963 for the pilot of the long-running TV show. The picturesque cove is a nice spot for a day trip even if you had no use for the show.

Beyond Kapaa, you'll find the crumbling Coco Palms on the right side of the highway at the intersection with Highway 580. Since you're not permitted on the grounds, head up 580 to Opaekaa Falls.

The crashing cascade, as we learned on the tour, found its way into "Wackiest Ship" and "Donovan's Reef," but the viewpoint on the other side of the road has proven even more captivating to the camera's eye. The Wailua River winds through a verdant landscape here, and it's been called on whenever a director has required a jungle river. That shelf along the river to the right was used for a village in Zaire ravaged by a mysterious plague in the opening scene of "Outbreak" (1995).

Just outside Lihue, on Highway 583, is Wailua Falls, used in the opening shot of the "Fantasy Island" TV series. Two crude trails lead to the base of the falls. You can find them at either of two parking areas - just look for the "Keep Out" signs. One of the routes, however, had me wading the boulder-strewn river nearly up to my waist to reach the base of the falls.

The drier, less-lush west side of Kauai hasn't been as popular with filmmakers. But Dick Van Dyke washed up on the Poipu Beach crescent of sand that fronts the Marriott Waiohai in the Disney movie "Lt. Robin Crusoe, USN" (1966). And a number of films - from "South Pacific" to "Honeymoon in Vegas" - had scenes shot at the sprawling and beautiful National Tropical Botanical Garden, on Lawai Road in Poipu.

Another important location, on the west flank of Waialeale, is 280-foot Manawaiopuna Falls. It was prominent in the opening scenes of "Jurassic Park," when a helicopter carrying scientists to a unique game preserve descended the length of it.

You'll also need to take a helicopter tour to see Manawaiopuna - your vehicle won't be able to get anywhere near it. "It's 15 miles of four- wheel-drive road, and it's on private land," said Awana Akau, our driver on the movie tour.

He chuckled. "Local people just call it Jurassic Park Falls now."

Just as every other business on the north shore seems to be named after Bali Hai.

The fortunes of Kauai and its movies have become that closely intertwined. --- You can contact Eric Noland at (818) 713-3681 or email eric.noland@dailynews.com