In big cloud country
Vistas and rainbows await at the Kahua Ranch, which now welcomes guests to its Big Island slice of heaven.
WAIMEA, Hawaii — The Big Island beaches are lovely, but it’s those magnificent mountains that call my name. I wanted to hop the fences and climb the hills, turn down every country lane to see where it led, go around the next bend in the road because the view might be even better. What was there to discover? A lot, it turned out.
One of the best ways to get up close and personal with the mountains of the Big Island is also one of the most scenic. Cutting across the brilliant green upcountry, Highway 250 leads from the town of Waimea across the Kohala Mountains at the 3,200-foot level for close to 20 miles before dropping down to the small north shore towns of Hawi and Kapaau. Along the way are 180-degree ocean views that stretch from Kona in the south all the way to Maui and the peaks of Haleakala more than 30 miles away across the Alenuihaha Channel.
Horse and cattle ranches dot the rolling landscape here, and much of the time the clouds are so low you feel as though you could touch them. Sometimes you are literally in their midst.
It also turned out that one of the historic ranches along 250, Kahua Ranch, recently started accepting overnight guests, so my wife, Landry, and I decided to check it out. Hey, it’s down a country lane, I could hop a bunch of fences to climb hills, and the view is even better from here.
Terri and Tim Richards met us at the Ranch Retreat, a private home-turned-guest rental. Kahua, an 8,500-acre ranch, has been in the Richards family since 1928. A western-facing plate-glass window in the retreat’s living room showcased the expansive ocean view. “A sunset every night,” Terri said, “and that’s where you get the daily rainbow that we order especially for every guest,” drawing an arc across the horizon with her finger. From the hot tub on the deck with wine glass in hand, she said, was the best place to view it all.
The living room, with its comfy black leather couch and fireplace, was a pretty good spot to hang out too. Art and artifacts — many with a Thai influence, because Terri is part Thai — adorned the walls and shelves. A well-equipped kitchen served nicely to whip up meals. Tip: The nearest grocery stores are more than 12 miles away, so don’t forget the eggs (though pre-stocking can be arranged for a small charge plus cost of items).
The place is rustic, not a plush hotel room but an authentic ranch house from the 1950s. There is no daily housekeeping.
“But,” Terri told us, “when people get here, they just want to stay. As soon as we posted on Facebook that we were accepting guests, the response was overwhelming. We got likes from Iceland, Israel … all over the place.
“But as it turns out, most of our guests are locals. They want to come up here and get a chance to see a different side of Hawaii.”