Hawaii ranches offer the best of many worlds...everyone knows that Hawaii has beautiful beaches but that’s not all – Hawaii ranches and land means “double paradise” for rural property seekers! Hawaii’s Big Island has an unexpected heritage, a rich “cowboy culture” more than a century old, centered in the upcountry ranchlands, populated with colorful characters and endless stories. But what makes a cowboy culture? Cowboys, horses and, well, cows.
The cows arrived on the island before horses or cowboys did, in 1793 when Captain George Vancouver, presented King Kamehameha I with 5 black longhorn cattle. The animals were in poor condition after the long sea voyage, and Kamehameha immediately put them under kapu (taboo, “hands off”), and freed them to range the island. Horses arrived five years afterward in1803. 19th Century historian David Malo in his Moolelo Hawaii, lists among the “imported animals from foreign lands …[t]he horse ( lio ), a large animal. Men sit upon his back and ride; he has no horns on his head.”
Although the dictionary gives “lio” as the Hawaiian word for horse, Hawaiian authority George S. Kanahele indicates horses were first called “wa a holo honua” (“canoes that travel on land”). Needless tosay, Hawaii has a rich, deep ranching history. The Hawaiian cowboy came to be called the paniolo, a Hawaiianized pronunciation of español. Even today, the traditional Hawaiian saddle and many other tools of the ranching trade have a distinctly Mexican look, and many Hawaiian ranching families still carry the surnames of vaqueros who made Hawaii their home.On the Big Island, sprawling ranches and upscale development co-exist with small farms and older plantation-style homes all over the Island. Two thousand feet above sea level on lush mountain slopes you'll find treasures of rural properties for sale.
For many decades the Hawaiian agricultural land was best known for its sugar plantations, but the sugar industry has dropped off in the last 30 years, leaving large tracts of agricultural land available for Hawaii ranches. Plus, from an investment perspective, in January of 2005, Hawaii received almost $2,000,000 in federal funds to protect Hawaii farm and ranch land using conservation easements. Such easements prevent the conversion of farm and ranch land to non-agricultural uses. There are a myriad of available ranch properties for sale, ranging from small mountain hideaways to sprawling working Hawaii ranches.
Take a few minutes and experience all that Hawaii ranches can be.
This article was added on Tuesday 09 February, 2010.
