A rare glimpse of life on the ranch

The Kahua Ranch experience is unique in the Hawaiian Islands, where opportunities are rare for visiting, much less staying, on a private working ranch. Other major ranches on the Big Island, including the largest, Parker Ranch, accept a limited number of visitors, if at all.

But at Kahua Ranch, the cowboy life is easy to settle into. We rode horses into the backcountry and went to a barbecue dinner; both activities ($108 per person for dinner; about $73 for a 11⁄2 -hour ride) are discounted for overnight guests.

If you are here in the spring, you can watch visiting hands from Montana shear the ranch’s sheep.

Best of all, though, was the chance to “talk story” with the Richards family and longtime ranch hands who were more than happy to reminisce about the old days when the paniolo (Hawaiian cowboy) lifestyle was all there was.

Long before tourism, Tim Richards told us, there was a rich paniolo tradition on the Big Island. Though the work has changed some, the ranches and cowboys are still a driving force in preserving the culture and beauty of the island.

“In the 1960s, the only ‘tools’ we had to tend the cattle were horses,” Tim said. “In the ’70s, we had horses and trucks. Nowadays, we have ATVs, GPS and other technology. So when I’m asked if the paniolo culture is dead, I say, ‘No, it’s alive and well in Hawaii. It has simply evolved.’ ”

More than 2,000 head of cattle are managed on the mid- and lower levels of the ranch; on the upper reaches, there’s a pristine tropical rain forest and vital watershed.

“There’s more going on in Hawaii than palm trees,” said Tim’s brother, John Richards. “The hotels are lovely, but they’re not all there is. Hawaii is found up here, in the land. Here on the ranch, you can touch and feel the dirt, and gain an understanding of what this island is all about.”