Hawaii’s
Back yard
Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi
Haleakala ranch
has lovely viewsExploring Haleakala Ranch on horseback is like being immersed in a John Constable painting -- so vivid are the colors, so sweeping are the views. The ranch sprawls over 32,000 acres a cool 4,000 feet above sea level in Upcountry Maui. From this lofty perspective, you can see the ocean and island of Kahoolawe to the south, across Maalaea Bay to the West Maui Mountains, and north to Paia and Haiku.
"You are out in the beauty of nature, away from the hotels, roads and crowds of people," says Doug Smith, owner of Pony Express Tours, which offers three rides, including a two-hour Picnic Ride, to the ranch's most scenic pockets. "I think that is what people are seeking when they're on vacation -- to see the land untouched. Sometimes there are pheasants flying through the eucalyptus trees and baby calves playing in the pastures, so a ride can be very entertaining."
So are the stories Pony Express' guides share about Haleakala Ranch, which, with 3,600 head of cattle, is Maui's largest working cattle ranch. The ranch was incorporated in 1888 by Lorrin A. Thurston and Edward Bailey, both of whom had missionary roots. Shortly thereafter, another missionary descendant, H.P. Baldwin, bought shares in the ranch. Bailey didn't stay long, and in the early 1900s, Harry and Samuel Alexander Baldwin, the oldest and youngest sons of H.P., respectively, acquired all Thurston's shares.
Colorful vignettes of ranch life are provided in "Haleakala Ranch Company: 100 Years of Ranching on Maui," a book by Tom Stevens released in 1988 to celebrate the ranch's centennial. Stevens wrote of the 1920s, when "the ranch raised its own corn, fed and butchered its own cattle and sold steaks out the door for 10 cents a pound."
Workers back then didn't have to wear watches because there was a donkey who would bray loudly, like clockwork, whenever lunchtime rolled around.
PONY EXPRESS
City slickers can get back to nature, away from the crowds and hotels via Pony Express tours of Haleakala Ranch land.
Longtime paniolo Harold Amoral describes nighttime cattle drives from Haleakala Ranch to Kahului Harbor in the early '30s: "When we got there (to the harbor), they had the quarantine station near Kanaha Pond. The cattle they had water, feed, rest and then we wait till the boat came in. See, the ranch used to take the boys down to Ah Fook's restaurant and feed the boys there, and then the boat came in and we load. They loaded them on the cattle boat in those days, they had the Humuula and the Hawaii. Right there in Kahului, we used to drive them right in to the wharf."
Driving cattle was hard work -- as was keeping the grasslands free of invasive species. Notes Stevens, "Before four-wheelers, herbicides and helicopters came along, teams of cowboys and hired laborers chopped for years with hoes and picks to rid the pastures of lantana, panini (cactus), pamakani (a native hibiscus) brush and the hated kalakala (gorse)."
Ernest Freitas, who worked at the ranch for 50 years, remembers, "Everything was (cut) by hand. In those days (1931), I used to get paid 78 cents a day ... for 10 hours ... would come to 17 or 18 dollars a month, and we worked Saturdays, too."
PONY EXPRESS
The 5 1/2-hour Kapaloa Cabin Ride takes visitors into Haleakala Crater for a trip that begins with a pastoral view, ending with a feeling you've landed on Mars.
Today, the ranch's landscape is punctuated by towering eucalyptus trees, Monterey pines, acacias and silver oaks that were planted in the early 1900s. "You'll notice numerous rock walls and mounds that were built by the Chinese 150 years ago in an effort to clear the land prior to planting," Smith says. "That leads into a discussion about immigrant laborers for Maui's sugar plantations and sugar's important place in Hawaii's history."
Smith launched Pony Express in 1982. "I was hiking through Haleakala Crater and was so impressed with the spectacular scenery there," he recalls. "It occurred to me that tourists would love to see this, and so the idea of running horseback rides inside the crater was born."
Six years later, Smith wrote a letter to Peter Baldwin, then president of Haleakala Ranch, inquiring about leasing ranch land so that he could expand his successful riding operation. They struck a deal, and Pony Express began offering rides across Haleakala Ranch.
The company currently has access to about 15,000 verdant acres of the ranch. Says Smith, "The diversity that is Maui is evident when you ride there. We go up and down over various types of terrain, from open pasture to forested areas. It can be fairly rocky with lots of grass, so for safety reasons the rides are primarily walking rides."
In the past 22 years, Pony Express has welcomed guests from all backgrounds, from around the world. "Greenhorns are probably the easiest type of riders to deal with since they have few preconceived notions about how to ride," Smith notes. "They are concerned about whether the horse 'likes' them and not making the horse 'mad.'
"After I advised a rather timid, small wahine to put her weight in the stirrups by pushing down with her feet, she was concerned that it would make her heavier on the horse! We take a little extra time with the first-timers, and most of them wind up enjoying being in the saddle as much as a seasoned cowboy!"
Picnic Ride with Pony Express
Place: Meet at the Pony Express headquarters on the slopes of Haleakala at 11 a.m. After you turn right onto Highway 37 (Haleakala Highway) from Highway 36 (Hana Highway), you'll pass through three traffic lights en route to Highway 377 (Kekaulike Highway), which starts after the third intersection. Follow Highway 377 until you reach the Highway 378 junction. Turn left and travel 2.5 miles up Highway 378. The Pony Express corral will be on the left.When: 11:30 a.m. daily
Cost: $105 per person, including a deli lunch. Book online for a 10 percent discount. Kamaaina receive a 20 percent discount.
Notes: Wear long pants, hat, sweater or a light jacket, and boots or closed-toe shoes. Pony Express also offers a one-hour Introductory Ride and a two-hour Paniolo Ride (including refreshments) at Haleakala Ranch. The 4 1/2-hour Ka Moa O Pele Junction Ride and the 5 1/2-hour Kapalaoa Cabin Ride go into Haleakala Crater. All riders must be at least 10 years old. Weight limit is 235 pounds. No pregnant women allowed. Tours are limited to eight riders plus the guide.
Call: 808-667-2200
E-mail: info@ponyexpresstours.com
Web site: ponyexpresstours.com
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi is a Honolulu-based free-lance writer and Society of American Travel Writers award winner.
