This Diverse Island

Not only is there a rich diversity in the people, who are decedents of various cultures and races; Hawaiian, Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, Spanish, and Portuguese, but there is diversity of climate and vegetation as well. Open grasslands around Waimea, desert scrub in the low dry Kohala region, tropical rain forests in upper Hilo and Kona, pine forests near Honoka'a and so on an so on.

• The Big Island boasts"...eleven of the 14 known climate zones in the world - from desert lavascapes to tropical rain forests to beaches to snow on the peaks of 14,000 foot volcanoes..."

So it is not surprising we attended a Texas-type rodeo around the corner from our house. The Paniolo, were Spanish cowboys brought here to teach the Hawaiians ranching skills; they, and the Hawaiian cowboys, rode the range on the Parker Ranch ( and many other small ranches) for the past 150 years . At one time, the Parker ranch was the biggest cattle ranch in all of the United States. The town of Waimea is in the center of the Parker estate and still has a western flavour. Mike and Betty said when they first moved here in the 80's cowboys were still seen riding horseback in town.

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