On the Range in Hawaii

The Big Island is a land of superlatives, of sights and sounds and smells and things to taste and touch and do that will awaken your passions. It’s an island of surf, hulas and blue ocean stretching to the horizon. Of sugar cane harvesters, papaya pickers and cowboys.

On Hawaii you expect palm trees, not cowboys. But there are hundreds of them: Hawaiian cowboys in boots and blue jeans and broad-brimmed hats and orchid-splashed shirts. They are called paniolos , pidgin for espanioles .

Hawaii’s cowboy tradition began early in the 19th Century when ranch owners imported Spanish vaqueros to teach the natives the secrets of roping, wrangling and rounding up cattle.

These paniolos spend their days in a countryside you’ll never see when you explore the island by boat, car, four-wheel drive or afoot. But when you take to the saddle and join some of the Big Island’s horseback safaris, you’ll experience and discover the sights and sounds and smells and tastes the paniolos do. Without roping and wrangling cows you become a paniolo.

Quarter the Big Island. Trace a line vertically from Waipio Valley in the north to Southpoint, another horizontally from Keaau across to Kailua-Kona in the west. Four quadrants, each different in geography and climate.

Rocky Pastures

The paniolo trails in the southwestern quadrant lead through rocky pastures where ohia trees whisper in the wind. Rare maile vines girdle their trunks, filling the air with their sweet fragrance. Thousands of wild orchids, purple and white. And sandalwood trees.

You cross fingers of dark lava rock, deposited long ago by Mt. Hualalai. Then the scenery changes into arid land with yellow-tinted, rugged brush, alternated by coffee trees, the only coffee commercially grown in the United States.

The air is balmy, with high humidity when the leeward wind sets in during the summer and early fall. Deep below you’ll see the Kona coast, dotted with buildings that appear like tiny blocks.

In the northwestern quadrant the climate is cooler, with clouds and banks of fog hugging the Kohala Mountains; a fine mist drifting down the slopes.

The safari trails lead through thick fields of grass, along meandering fence lines and past herds of grazing cattle. Higher up, you’ll go through dense forests that creep toward the eroded summits of the mountains. You cross flowing streams, pass by waterfalls and through clutches of feathery ironwood trees.

Maui Sometimes Visible

On the upper slopes the vistas toward the south and west will leave you spellbound. On a clear day the island of Maui is visible. You can see the entire 50-mile coastline from Hawi to Kona in one sweep--a seacoast of cliffs, lava-scarred fields and beaches framed by white surf.

And when the sun sets, the valleys and slopes of the mountain you ride are gently covered by a deep yellow-orange hue, and all other colors dissipate.

High above the beaches and hotels and other tourist spots, you can view the island’s seascapes and landscapes. These are the vistas the paniolos experience, and as a paniolo yourself, you discover, too.

On the other side of the Kohala Mountains in the Waipio Valley the air is warm and humid. Sheltered on three sides by 2,000-foot cliffs, with the fourth side facing the ocean, there’s hardly a breeze.

In this forgotten valley you experience peace and tranquillity in a world apart from any other place. There are hidden waterfalls, where the sound of splashing water is all that disturbs the stillness. It’s a place where taro farmers quietly tend their crop, where the meandering Wailoa River runs into the state’s largest black-sand beach.

Pluck and Munch

It’s a valley where you pluck and munch on guavas, mountain apples, passion fruit and sweet bananas.

The ride leads you deep into the valley, past make-do homes and down the beach where you give your horse free rein to gallop alongside the surf. Then you cross the river, your feet pulled up over your saddle horn and, finally, climb a tree-shaded trail on the far side.

Comparisons are inevitable. Most likely you’ll land at Kona’s Keahole Airport on a runway cut out of stark black lava rock. It’s like landing on the moon. On your drive to Kona, most of what you see are lava fields stretched in all directions, with patches of sparse, straw-colored pili grass and more dry kiawe .

This makes the contrast of what you see along the paniolo horseback trails at higher elevations all the more dramatic. On each ride you can go from tropical beaches up through rain forests or grassy pastures, past cattle ranches and through flower fields.

Straying off the beaten path, away from tamer pleasures, saddled up on a horse, you’ll experience a different view of Hawaii than that available from a beach towel.

Horseback safari stables:

Waiono Meadows, P.O. Box 628, Holualoa-Kona, Hawaii 96725, phone (808) 329-0888. One-hour guided trail ride, $15 per person plus tax. Two-hours, $28 per person plus tax. Special rides: breakfast, picnic lunch, sunset dinner.

Kona Coast Trail Riders, P.O. Box 2899, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii 96740, phone (808) 325-6666. One-hour guided trail ride, $16 per person plus tax. Two hours, $30 per person plus tax. Special rides: overnight camping, birthday parties, photography, sunset.

Waipio Ranch, P.O. Box 1283, Honokaa, Hawaii 96727, phone (808) 775-0373. Half-day guided trail ride, $50 per person. Full day, $100 per person.

Ironwood Outfitters, P.O. Box 832, Kamuela, Hawaii 96743, phone (808) 885-4941. Ninety-minute guided trail ride, $25 per person. Two hours, $30 per person. Half day, $35 per person. One-hour afternoon ride, $15 per person. Special rides: photography, sunset, Sunday morning, breakfast cookout, overnight camping.

Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, P.O. Box 218, Kamuela, Hawaii 96743, phone (808) 882-7222. One-hour guided trail ride, $14 per person. Two hours, $28 per person.

All stables require reservation at least a day ahead.