We enjoyed the spectacular views at the highest point in Princeville, except for the mountains.

Yesterday afternoon, Tom and I made our way to the nearby Princeville Ranch, for a 1:30 appointment to tour the expansive 2500 acre family owned business of Princeville Ranch with Curly Caswell, its founder.

We met with Curly under the sign for the Princeville Ranch, the same entrance that adventure seekers enter for the myriad activities offered on the ranch.

When I exited the ATV, this Brangus cattle approached.

Whether one’s interests fall into the category of horseback riding, zip-lining, hiking, off-road tours, kids adventures, kayaking, picnicking by or swimming under a waterfall, or simply admiring the exquisite beauty of this unique property, the Princeville Ranch has it all.

Moments later, more started to approach me.

The Brangus cattle, like other breeds, are often curious when humans approach.

Our tour with Curly provided us with an opportunity to experience an in-depth perspective from our eyes as travel writers while listening to Curly’s interesting stories as to his and Gale’s acquisition of the use of the lands many decades years ago.

The scenery on the Princeville Ranch is breathtaking in every direction.

Over 40 years ago, their passion for horses, led to their dedicated creation of the Pooku Stables, later to become the Princeville Ranch. As their children matured the innovative family participated in the development of the adventure activities together, making Princeville Ranch one of the most popular adventure destinations for both tourists and local residents.

Although there’s no farming on the ranch, there are wild fruit trees as typically found in many areas in the Hawaiian Islands.

Curly’s ingenuity and exemplary business acumen led him to become one of the first and foremost developers of the community of Princeville, leaving a rich footprint of hard work and creativity in his path.

At times, the ATV maneuver on easy roads such as this.  At other times, we were off-road.

The detailed story of the growth of the Princeville Ranch is found at this link. However, as we always strive to maintain the integrity of the interests and nature of our website surrounding our ongoing world travels, we found ourselves particularly fascinated with the grass-fed cattle, one more avenue of success and opportunity at the Princeville Ranch.  

Tom was the official “gatekeeper” jumping out to open various gates along the tour.

Access to North Shore Kauai Beef is a treasure for the local residents of the island and for those lucky tourists who have access to a grill or kitchen at their vacation rental.

As we’ve discussed in many past posts, my way of eating changed the quality of my life almost four years ago, allowing us to travel the world, hopefully for many more years to come. The concept of eating only grass-fed meat and organic produce has been instrumental in that renewed health and mobility.

The weather changed dramatically during our tour.

North Shore Kauai Beef was literally and figuratively born out of the Princeville Ranch in 1994 during which time, until 2009 it was labeled as “Princeville Pride.” 

North Shore Kauai Beef is offered on the island at the following locations:

• North Shore General Store (formerly Princeville Chevron station, recently acquired as a Union 76 station) where one can purchase a burger from the Café or buy steaks or burgers to cook at home).
• Harvest Market in Hanalei
• Princeville Wine Market in (Princeville Shopping Center)
• Healthy Hut in Kilauea
• Hoku Whole Foods in Kapa’a
• Kaua’i Ono Food Truck in Hanalei

In the past, over two months while living in Princeville we’ve found ourselves thrilled to be able to purchase reasonably priced, chemical, and hormone-free grass-fed meat at three of the above locations. At this time, our freezer is jam-packed with North Shore Kauai Beef purchased long before we met Curly.

The concept of grass-fed meat is interesting, as well stated on the Princeville Ranch’s website:

“Our cattle are raised on 100% pure Kaua’i pasture. NO growth hormones nor antibiotics are used in our Brangus breed of cattle. They enjoy fresh green grass year-round and are raised between 24 and 30 months of age. Our cattle are handled with low stress and it shows in the flavor and quality of our beef.”

Wild brush grows rampant on the ranch, which is moved rather than chemically treated.

The “Brangus breed was developed to utilize the superior traits of Angus and Brahman cattle. Their genetics are stabilized at 3/8 Brahman and 5/8 Angus. This combination results in a breed which unites the traits of two highly successful parent breeds. The Brahman, through rigorous natural selection, developed disease resistance, overall hardiness, and outstanding maternal instincts. Angus is known for its superior carcass qualities. They are also extremely functional females, who excel in both fertility and milking ability.”

And then…there was the sea.

Curly explained that the cattle are rotated to other pastures every few weeks to allow time for the pasture to regenerate.  Careful attention and maintenance are exercised to reduce the growth of plants and grasses that tend to inhibit the healthy growth of good pastures, entirely without the use of chemicals.

What could be more perfect for devotees such as us with a desire to avoid the chemicals and toxic grains fed mainstream cattle? After all, if cattle are fed corn in their diet, used to “fatten” them, that same corn becomes a part of our digestive system and DNA when we consume it.

As we climbed to the highest point, the unpaved road was often steep. I sat in the front with Curly, easily hanging on through rough patches.

Views of cattle in one of the many pasture areas.

Cattle are scattered throughout the acreages, rotated every few weeks to allow the pastures to regrow.

When done, we top each burger with the sautéed onions, garlic, and pre-cooked slices of nitrate-free bacon, and of course, a thick slice of cheddar cheese. Adding a few slices of locally grown organic tomatoes and avocado, the meal is complete.  Actually, it’s one of our favorites.

Further shot of the above stupendous view.

As we bounced along the rough road with Curly in one of the ranch’s many off-road vehicles, our attention was drawn to the breathtaking scenery including a long-ago man-made lake (when the massive acreage was a sugar plantation developed in the 1800s by Gale’s ancestors).

Curly called this a Christmas berry tree, although it’s not Holly.

Adding the beauty of the surrounding vegetation-covered mountains and of course, the exquisite blue of the ocean at a distance as shown in our photos, we were humbled and in awe. 

Curly’s favorite cow, Sugar, is 16 years old and had a calf a few days ago.

As we stood atop the highest elevation on the 2500 acre Princeville Ranch, we found ourselves turning in one direction after another trying to absorb the scenery surrounding us, like nothing we’ve ever seen in our past travels.

Sugar’s calf was much smaller than she appears in this photo.

Our special thanks to Curly, Gale, and their family members for providing us with the opportunity to enhance our worldwide experiences with the divine tour of Princeville Ranch which we proudly share with our worldwide readers today.

Sugar, under the tree, and her new calf.

With more photos worthy of sharing than we can possibly post in one day, we’ll continue adding additional shots of the ranch over the next few days.

Back to you again soon!

Photo from one year ago today, March 25, 2014:

On a day tour outside the Medina, we visited the Jardin Marjorelle, a popular garden in the city of Marrakech. We were curious about this family of turtles lounging in the sun, yet close enough to take an occasional dip in the pond in the heat of the day. For details of part one of our two-part tour, please click here.