Almost every night, manta rays come into a few select bays on the west coast of the Big Island, to feed in the shallows on plankton. Snorkeling with the manta rays has become one of the 'must-do' adventures here in Hawaii. However, it is not for the feint of heart. You have to wait for darkness, and be willing to jump into the ocean at night, and share it with creatures that are bigger than you. Luckily, these manta rays are gentle giants. They don't have teeth or stingers, which is nice, because as you will see, they can swim very close to you!
Tonight was extra special, as it was the total lunar eclipse as well as our manta snorkel night. We took our boat to a little bay in front of the fancy, Mauna Kea resort. We anchored in about 17ft of water, put out surfboards with special underwater lights in them, and waited. The lights soon got crowded with plankton, and different fish coming in to feast on the plankton. But after thirty minutes, that is still all we saw. Everyone was getting very down and ready to give up, but at the last minute, a manta showed up!
Everyone jumped into action, putting on snorkel gear and slipping quietly into the water. No one wanted to scare away the manta. We all gathered around the surfboard with the light in the middle. Then we waited. And sure enough, a huge manta came over to check us out. It started down at the bottom, but soon was doing barrel roll after barrel roll, right under us. I mean inches, centimeter, away from us. Everyone was screaming through their snorkels in delight. Check out the pictures and the video to experience the adventure with me.
And any time you are in the Big Island, on the Kona side, check this adventure out for yourself. It is a bucket list kind of experience. Enjoy!
Finally! After waiting for a while, we saw a manta gliding down below. But will it come up closer?
Yes it will! The manta ray, named Ray 2 D 2, swam within inches of us at the surface. You can see all the little plankton gathering in the light. That is what the manta ray was after.
These manta rays here off the west coast of Hawaii all have names. They are identified by unique black and white patterns on their bellies. That is how we new that this one is Ray2D2, named by one of our guides.
It was wild to hear everyone screaming with delight as the manta came right under us. It almost look like it wanted to eat us, opening its huge mouth, but it was really after the tiny plankton that was drawn to our light.
The mantas feed by doing loops through the water, funneling the plankton into their open mouth and over their specialized gill rakers.
These manta rays are gentle giants. They don't have teeth, and they also lack a stinger. You still don't want to touch them though, as the oil from your hands can dissolve their protective slime layer.
Sometimes they come so close that it seems they want you to pet them...but no touching allowed.
I don't think you could get any closer without touching.
Topside view. We light up the area with underwater lights, then jump in the water to hopefully see manta rays.
And as always, keep traveling and keep posting!
- Dai Mar