The TRAVELER'S JOURNAL: December seventeenth, off road on Hawaii's Big Island.

At 4,000 square miles, the Big Island of Hawaii is big. A Connecticut sized micro-continent with slices of 12 of the earth's 14 different climatic regions, it hosts many thousands of visitors each year. Most gravitate to the Disneyesque, bronze-bodied brouhaha of the beach resorts along the Kona coastline, making quick dashes to view Kilauea, Hawaii's active volcano. Relatively few, however, find their way to the island's northern half, a lush, wild realm, where the deep, rich rhythm of the Hawaiian heart still beats and cowboys roam.

Kapa'au on the North Kohala coast was home to Kamehameha, the beloved, herculean king who unified the Hawaiian islands. It lies at the edge of the Pololu Valley, a splendid, rain forest wilderness pocketed with deep ravines where thread-like waterfalls tumble hundreds of feet onto black rock beaches. Or the Waipi'o, a vast, verdant valley encased by vertiginous cliffs. History flows deep here, from sacrifice hungry deities to 40-foot-high tsunamis.

Or visit the sprawling grasslands of the historic Parker Ranch in the shadow of majestic Mauna Kea, whose snow-capped summit peaks at nearly 14,000 feet. The town of Waimea seems drawn from a dreamscape of Old Mexico, complete with hitching posts to which dusty vaqueros tie their ponies. Indeed, Hawaiian paniolos were herding cattle here long before cowboys ranged America's West.

Resplendent with scenic wonders and small surprises, Hawaii's Big Island is a realm where voices of the old gods can still be heard and Madam Pele rules supreme. FMI For information, contact the Big Island Visitor Bureau, 800-648-2441 or www.bigisland.org

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