They are called “Sunset”, “Soho”, “Ringo”, “Booboo”, “Pipe” or “Hansi”. And they all listen to Thomas. To Thomas Kafsack, the ex-North Frisian, who is now a goat farmer on Maui and is just taking a few tourists across his farm:
“Here you see the young girls. You can give them a little hay. Don’t worry, they can’t bite you. Goats only have a row of teeth in their lower jaw.”
Curiously, the little goats come closer and pluck the dry grass from the hands of the visitors. There is plenty of it here on the gently sloping, wind-sheltered northwest slopes of Haleakala, where it rarely rains. Two thirds of the approximately 17 hectare farm are pastureland, on which not only tropical grasses but also palm trees and cacti grow. In the distance: sugar cane fields, and behind them: the deep blue Pacific. Thomas Kafsack loves the sea. And the windsurfing world cup on Sylt. And this is exactly where the “Maui fever” once gripped him:
“There were a lot of surfers who came here from Maui or from Hawaii. Like Robby Naish, for example. And then we flew to Maui with the kids during the fall break. And it’s just addicting, these islands. And especially Maui. Maui has the advantage that we actually have everything in terms of climate: like here, we have a very dry climate. If you go to the other side, it actually rains almost every day. If it’s too warm for you down here, drive you hold up the volcano, it’s colder up there. Until we have snow up there in winter. What nobody believes when I tell them: That we also have snow in Hawaii! “
Goat cheese in Hawaii
What was really not available in Hawaii for a long time, however, was fresh goat cheese. In the farm shop of their ex-neighbors on Sylt, Thomas and Eva got a taste for it. And took the idea with them to Maui. Although Thomas, the computer specialist, and Eva, the teacher, had absolutely no idea regarding goats and cheese:
“We then learned how to do it. My wife then learned it on various goat farms in Schleswig-Holstein. And then we visited various places in France and Austria, and we just soaked up everything that we might suck up on tips . And we actually learned more every year. But it’s a lot of fun working with goats. Goats are very smart, very intelligent animals. And they love you. If you feed them a couple of times, they’ll run following you! “
But goats can also be quite exhausting. Especially if you want to separate the goats from the over 100 goat “ladies”. At first they simply skipped the normal pasture fences, remembers Thomas:
“And that’s why we had to make it even higher. With surfboards. So that they wouldn’t get out.”
Surfboards as a replacement for pasture fences
Disused surfboards as a replacement for pasture fences and as climbing frames for the goat children – that’s probably only available on Maui. Kafsacks’ good contacts with the surfing scene made it possible – and ultimately gave the farm its name: “Surfing Goat Dairy” (Surf-Goat Dairy):
“The surfers thought that was great too! That’s why you see here, I don’t know how many hundreds of surfboards we have, they come from these people. If boards are broken or they no longer surf with these boards, we swap ‘n Board for cheese. Or two, depending on how good the surfboard still looks. “
However – the cheese was anything but easy in the beginning. Usually goat cheese is not a big seller in Hawaii:
“Almost all Americans don’t like goat cheese if it tastes like goat! That which was on average six months old from France. Then some acids break down in the milk, which then give it that goat taste. And people didn’t like that.”
Obama was also a customer
Fresh cheese from his farm is guaranteed not to taste like goat, assures Thomas Kafsack. And likes to let its visitors nibble:
“Oh man, I really like this. It tastes wonderful!”
“Goat is okay. But actually I’m not that much of a fan of sour creamy cheese.”
“That tastes a bit like pizza. Totally funny. But yummy. Oh, that’s spicy. There is probably some pepper or something in it. Maybe it doesn’t taste like normal goat cheese. So you can definitely get used to it . “
Even ex-US President Barack Obama has already enjoyed the goat cheese from the “Surfing Goat Dairy”, says Thomas Kafsack proudly. They would constantly develop new cheese creations. Doesn’t sound like the 66-year-old and his two-year-old wife Eva will soon be returning to Sylt:
“No, we decided that even if we sell this, that we would stay here on Maui. The people who live here on Maui have one of the longest life expectancies ever! The people here are going to be 105, 106, 108, 112 years old! “
So did the two North Germans find their paradise in the Pacific? Eva hesitates. She misses a lot on Maui, she says then. And it sounds a bit homesick:
“I miss museums, I miss history in the cities, I miss Hamburg with the wide streets and the Alster. I miss a lot, a lot, a lot. There is a lot that speaks for Maui, especially in winter. In summer, it’s too hot for me . I am a northern light! “