Surfing Goat Dairy
Last updated 01. Jun, 2010 by Mark in Activities | Upcountry, Ag Tours | Upcountry
Evening chores - round 'em up!
Rating: 
*how we rate restaurants
In a nutshell: An unusual mix of world-class award winning gourmet goat cheese and country-style farm tour.
Minuses: (for some – you know who you are!) Hello, it’s a real farm!
Sound-bite: “We left with a heartwarming feeling about how a dairy goat operation can be sustained.”
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Description:
Surfing Goat Dairy is an unpretentious, small sustainable farm designed for utility and the comfort of the animals. This is definitely not a touristy built-for-tourism type operation. And while the farm stand that serves the cheeses may be rustic, the cheeses themselves are world-class. In fact they've won 18 awards (and counting) and can be found served in the finest restaurants on Maui and beyond.
Young kids petting the young kids!
Besides the stand, they also offer tours. While the tours are super-fun for kids (both human, and goat), this can also be a nice adventure for adults who appreciate seeing how a small sustainable farm operates, or even people who just want to pick up some spectacular cheeses right from the source. (Did I mention that baby goats are absolutely adorable?!?) The location is also surrounded with expansive scenic vistas from which to enjoy a taste or two (or three!)
Speaking of the farm tours, a little planning goes a long way toward having a great time; I don't suggest just showing up "whenever" for the on-demand casual tour because that tour is not much more than a walk to the pasture. With a bit of planning, the one hour long evening chores tour consists of herding, feeding & milking - which is really a load of fun. (Offered 3:15pm on Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday.) But the best tour (and value) is in the two hour grand dairy tour offered on select Saturdays at 9am (give them a call ahead of time, this isn't offered every Saturday.) On the grand tour you get to feed and milk the goats, observe the cheese making process, and best of all you get to sample most of the cheeses they produce at the dairy (that alone is worth the price of admission!)
Feeding an adorable baby goat.
They also have a private tours,cheese tastings, and a cooking with goat cheese class. Give them a call for more info.
Now if you're one of these folks who are going to show up here expecting a sterile factory tour with a polished and fancy gourmet ambiance to match the cheeses, you may want to just do a drive-by, grab some cheeses, and run off to an ag-tour that is less farm, and more ambiance. (The Ali'i Kula Lavender Garden or Tedeschi Winery are two great Upcountry options light on the farm and heavy on the pampering.)
Many people find the location difficult to find. There really is nothing difficult about it - check the map below. I've marked an alternate off-the-beaten-path route to take from Kahului. About the same amount of time as the highway, but it is a country road to get you in the farm mindset, and will also take you right past the dairy.
Other Reviews: *ordered by accuracy
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