My husband and I have become passionate about scuba diving. We used to snorkel a lot but after we got our certifications for diving it opened up a new underwater world to us. Diving allows us to get a closer look at the beautiful sea creatures and to see them in action. It allows us to stay neutrally buoyant at depth seemingly floating still in their world. Discovering them hidden in the crevices of the reef is a lot of fun.
The Manta Ray Night Dive is an experience not to be missed and it should be on every scuba diver’s list. These majestic and gentle creatures mesmerized us. They seem to fly like birds except they do it under water so gracefully. Diving with these gentle giants is the main reason we returned to the Big Island for a second time. It was amazing and if we have the chance, we would do it again in a heartbeat!
The huge and graceful manta rays—some with a wingspan of 15–18 feet—come to feed on plankton that’s attracted by the lights from the divers down below and the snorkelers above. They glide, pirouette and do barrel rolls as they feast just inches above our heads. Keep your eyes open for some friendly eels that like to come and nibble on divers ears while they are mesmerized by the rays. It’s an incredible show, the manta rays are so close you could touch them but don’t—even a gentle touch is bad for them, as it wipes away a protective coat and exposes them to diseases. It is also illegal in Hawaii to touch them!
Here’s my Manta Ray Night Dive video 🙂
During our last visit to Hawaii, the diving conditions were excellent, the water was clear with 80-100 ft visibility and the abundance of sea life only added to the excitement. While we were too early (November) for whales, we did see a spout in the distance as well as a large pod of dolphins. Normally the whales start to arrive in December. One note however was that we could not help but notice the bleaching of a lot of the coral. Locals told us temperatures had been unusually warm, but were confident that this was repairing itself as the temperatures fell.
If you’re not a scuba diver, snorkeling is a good alternative and even in front of the Mauna Kea we had plenty to see just snorkeling a few feet from the shore. This time around we dove around Kona with Big Island Divers and with Kohala Divers near the Kohala Coast. We would definitely dive with them again.
Let’s keep the ocean clean and protect this natural resource…
Happy and safe diving!
Nathalie
2 replies on “Manta Ray Night Dive, an Experience Not to Be Missed!”
This was an amazing dive. So many divers and lights it was really not so intimidating as a night dive. On the surface you have a slew of snorkels shining flashlights down and a ‘campfire’ of lights with the divers pointing up. A bad night for plankton but excellent for us!!
Such an amazing experience! Would do it again in a heartbeat!