Macadamia Nuts Archives - National Parks With T

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The macadamia nut tree is originally from Australia, but the macadamia industry was born in Hawaii. Most of the world’s macadamia nuts are produced in Hawaii on small farms.

While on our tour of Oahu’s North shore, we stopped at Tropical Farms. This began as a roadside stand in 1987 with a husband-wife team shelling the nuts at night and selling them by day. It takes 300 pounds of pressure to crack the macadamia’s shell.

Now it’s a tourist attraction with a farm tour, demonstrations and a gift shop with lots of free samples. In the shadow of the Koʻolau Mountains with wild chickens running around the property, it is a lovely place to stop.