Afternoon at Kahua Ranch

The post at Facebook said:

AFTERNOON AT KAHUA RANCH - MAY 29th, Noon to 3:30pm

LUNCH: $15.00 Includes: Paniolo Beef Stew, Salad, Sweetbread

ABOUT KAHUA: Meet the staff and learn about the Ranch
TOUR: Free Tram Tour - Experience beautiful Kohala!
ATV DISCOUNT: ATV rides for only $35!! (Normally $105)
This event is for our Twitter and Facebook friends--to celebrate our first two months on Twitter and FB and to say mahalo for "following" and "liking" our pages!
Please RSVP by calling Hawk Hawkins at 808 882-7954 to book your reservation...and then SHARE to let all your Twitter and FB friends know about this special Afternoon at Kahua!
Learn more about our ATV Adventures here: http://www.kahuaranch.com/activities/atvadventures

 

 

We hadn't been to the Kahua Ranch in several years so decided this was an opportunity not to be missed.

 

After meeting our friend Chef Olelo pa'a Faith Ogawa for breakfast and a couple of hours at the Waimea Homestead Farmers Market (see the previous post), we drove up the mountain to the Kahua Ranch (pronounced Kahu'wa). 

 

 

The word kahua has several meanings; place of emcampment is one of them and stories tell of the time when Kamehameha used the area to train his warriors.  Kahu'a is also the name of a star in Hawaiian.  Whatever the meaning, Kahua is a beautiful working ranch!

 

 

After welcoming everyone and explaining a little bit about the ranch, a paniolo lunch of Kahua Ranch beef stew was served.  The original cowboys who came to Hawaii to teach locals how to ride, rope and herd cattle were Mexican vaqueros and called paniolos by the Hawaiians, meaning

españoles, or the' Spanish ones' and the name stuck, so a Hawaiian cowboy is a 'paniolo'

 

 

 

Rolling hills, the ocean, and on that day, a fairly clear view of Haleakala (House of the Sun) in Maui, are the views to be seen from the 'paniolo deck', the meeting and eating area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After lunch, the guests who had signed up for ATV rides were given an orientation and safety talk and off they went over hill and dale to explore the ranch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The rest of us were taken on a tram ride around the ranch with John Richards as our very knowledgeable tour guide.  John was born on the ranch and his family has owned it since 1928!

 

 

 

Photo: Early cowboy bunkhouse.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The tour included a stop to visit the quaint little chapel which was put together on that site using two little buildings from other sites.  Inside the chapel there is a mural painted by Jean Charlot of a Nativity scene or crèche with the original models being actual people who lived on the ranch at the time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Louis Henri Jean Charlot (February 8, 1898 - March 20, 1979) was a very well known muralist who was born in France and studied with Diego Rivera in Mexico before coming to Hawaii. The Isaacs Art Center Museum & Gallery in Waimea has some of his works.  Charlot was also a professor at UH-Manoa (Honolulu) where several of his murals can be found.

 

 

The Nativity at the Ranch was painted in August 1953 as a memorial to Ronald von Holt who appears in the right foreground as the kneeling cowboy.   Von Holt, along with Atherton Richards were the original founders of the Kahua Ranch.

 

Photo above: Flower border around the chapel

 

 

Besides cattle, the ranch also raises sheep and horses.  We also saw some Kona nightingales (donkeys) during our tour.

 

I heard a couple of days ago that Kahua Ranch is planning another event, possibly for July.  If you're on Facebook, 'like' their page so you can receive notices of when it will be.

Kahua Ranch on Facebook page.  If you're not on Facebook, what are you waiting for?

 

A hui hou, Kahua....until we visit again!