Three days into my trip to Hawaii I heard someone say the magic words: Maui goats. There were goats on Maui! My vision became tunneled, my mind: one-tracked. There was no getting off this island without a visit to the Surfing Goat Dairy.

For days I looked forward to the experience. Finding goats around the world is my THING. Though I wanted to do the “Grand Experience,” I was dragging along three other adults that may or may not have the same enthusiasm for getting covered in hay and hoof dirt. Forcing them up early so we could be the first ones at the dairy when it opened at 10 am, was a big enough ask. Goat enthusiasm is not for everyone.

Winding through the agricultural heart of Maui, there’s not much else around the dairy besides hillsides of green, glimpses of the blue pacific below. But oh when you pull in, faint little bleats punctuate the air as teenage goats roam the pasture and babies jump off plastic slides…it’s goat paradise.

You can do the casual tour anytime, no reservation needed. You can also pay to do “Evening Chores” which is as slick of a way for the dairy to get through their daily tasks as I’ve ever seen. I would’ve happily paid if my friends would’ve just dropped me off for the day.

I spent about two hours feeding the goats and making weird sounds at them, which I’m sure they understood and appreciated. Go early if you need this kind of bonding with them. Otherwise show up anytime, though the groups may get larger and the tours more structured.

The folks at Surfing Goat Dairy wouldn’t let me snuggle any of the babies, which left a tiny vacant spot in my heart. Yet, they were long suffering as I took roughly forty-two goat selfies in their pasture. Ahhhhh, goat visit complete.