Waimea Area Has Nice Restaurants, High-Tech, and Lots of History and Culture
The town of Waimea, also known as Kamuela, is paniolo (Hawaiian cowboy) country. Waimea is bordered by ranchlands yet also is the home of some extremely high-tech scientific enterprises.
Most notably, international astronomers come to this area to work at the world-class astronomical observatories atopMauna Kea Volcano, and often spend time at their Waimea Town offices (because you can only spend so much time at nearly 14,000 feet atop Mauna Kea where the large telescopes are located).
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At the W. M. Keck Observatory Office (open 8-4:30, Monday to Friday), in the Waimea Town center you can see some educational exhibits and also a video about these world-renown high-tech activities.
In Waimea’s historic Lindsey House at 65-1291 Kawaihae Road is the Waimea Visitor Center (808-885-6707; open 9:30-4:30 Monday-Saturday).
Built in 1909, the Lindsey House is a ranch cabin that has been wonderfully restored and is now operated by the Waimea Preservation Association. This is a great place to visit to get more information about Waimea Town and the surrounding area, inclduing the many Hawaiian cultural and historic sites in Kohala.
The town of Waimea in the Kohala foothills sits at an elevation of nearly 3,000 feet. Waimea also has many nice restaurants as well as important Hawaiian cultural sites. During the last decade many new homes were built in subdivisions that were created on former Waimea ranchlands.
The name “Kamuela” that also refers to this region is said to be a reference to the former postmaster of the district, Samuel Spencer (Kamuela is Hawaiian for Samuel).
A more common belief, however, is that it refers to Samuel Parker of the famous Parker Family which owns Parker Ranchwhich surrounds Waimea Town. Parker Ranch is one of the oldest and largest ranches in the United States, and the nation’s largest single-owned private ranch.
Parker Ranch headquarters is in Waimea, and its ranchlands comprise about ten percent of the whole island of Hawaii (the Big Island).
If you are interested in the history of this region then you simply must visit the Parker Ranch Museum. Lots of great information and exhibits are provided to enlighten you on this massive ranch as well as John Palmer Parker and his descendants.First visiting Hawaii on a fur trading ship, John Palmer Parker came to Waimea in 1815 to work for King Kamehameha Ikilling wild cattle that was then salted and sold to ships visiting the island, and the cattle hides were also exported. The powerful ruler Kamehameha had previously prohibited killing the cattle, and as a result their numbers had greatly increased. Parker eventually did other work for Kamehameha, including supervising his fishponds.
Parker later married a Hawaiian woman with connections to Hawaiian royalty, and they had a daughter and two sons. Parker also began building his own herd of cattle and eventually bought a large amount of land where the animals could graze. Parker also built a sawmill.
John Palmer Parker II continued his father’s work, increasing the ranch’s size and starting a major cattle ranch in 1837.
Check out the Parker Ranch Visitor Center (808-885-7655; open 9-5 Mon.-Sat) where the Parker Ranch Museum has very interesting artifacts of early ranch days including family portraits, saddles, tools used on the ranch, and other interesting and educational items as well as Hawaiian cultural artifacts. You can also take a horse-drawn wagon tour of the area!Activities at Parker Ranch include horseback riding (of course), wagon rides, hot air ballooning, and also demonstrations of Hawaiian craft making.
Tours of historic Parker Ranch homes are also offered, including the 1840 Mana Hale which was the home of John Palmer Parker and served as the ranch’s center of operations.
Another historic Parker home is called Puopelu and located atop a scenic hill. Puopelu was owned by John Palmer Parker II and then served as the home of a 6th generation Parker named Richard Smart who collected world-famous art pieces and built up one of Hawaii’s most prominent art collections.
Kona coffee lovers are sure to find their favorite gourmet Kona coffees available at various eateries and cafe’s in the Waimea area. Journeying north from Kailua-Kona and Kona Coffee Country is a wonderful adventure as you explore the wonders of Waimea Town.
Parker Ranch is now more than 200,000 acres with more than 30,000 head of Angus and Charolais cattle and more than 200 horses. Each year more than 15 million pounds of beef are produced. The ranch is surrounded by more than 850 miles of fencing.Imiola Church (808-855-4987) is a very historical structure in Waimea on Church Lane. Established in 1832, Imiola Church was rebuilt in 1837 and features native koa wood on the interior of the church and also Hawaiian calabashes hanging from the ceiling.
Those fine attractions should be a great way to spend a weekend before heading back to Kona Coffee Country!