Hawaiian cowboys? – it sounds like a contradiction, but then Hawaii is full of them. In addition to its active volcano, pristine beaches, and the world’s largest observatories on Mauna Kea, the Big Island of Hawaii is also home to one the largest and oldest ranches in the United States.

After the war of 1812 John Parker settled in the Islands and became friends with King Kamehameha I. He married the daughter of a high-ranking chief and was given two acres of land and allowed to manage the free-roaming cattle on the island. Over the next 160 years the ranch grew to thousands of acres around the town of Waimea and until 1992, it was the largest privately owned cattle ranch in the United States (including Texas and Montana!).

The paniolos (or Hawaiian cowboys) who work the ranch are descendants of Mexican vaqueros, excellent horsemen brought over by Parker to manage the growing operation. They trained local men to rope and ride a generation before the American cowboys of the Wild West learned their craft, and introduced to the local culture the sound that today is synonymous with Hawaii, the ukulele.