Manta Ray Adventure
On my recent visit to the amazing Big Island I knew I had to snorkel with the Manta Rays. These magnificent creatures feast on plankton (you know, from Sponge Bob Square Pants!). These graceful giants have no stinger (unlike sting rays, eagle rays, spotted rays). You see, manta rays are actually part of the shark family...but again they eat Sponge Bob's friend - plankton!
The only way to witness these magnificent giants is to go on a night dive/snorkel adventure because when lights are shone on the water from above and under the surface of the water pointing up - voila, you see plankton. Now the manta does not appear everywhere to feed. There are a couple of places in Kona that have exceptional viewing and most of the tour companies go to these spots.
We went with Sea Paradise, which is located in Keauhou near the Sheraton Keauhou Resort. It was a quick 5 minute boat ride to the point just beyond the Sheraton (a prime place for the manta's to feast at), but within this short ride several people got sea sick - so if you are prone to sea sickness take your Dramamine so you can enjoy the show!
At first I was a bit unsure of how we were all going to snorkel in the darkness of the Pacific Ocean, but we were advised that we would actually all be holding onto a floating contraption (made of floating noodles) - ahhh, much better - no lost snorkelers at sea is a good thing!
So now that we are at sea, donned with our wetsuits, off we go into the ocean awaiting the entrance of this night's showstopper - the mantas. And as expected they came for their feeding. This night we were graced by the appearance of two females both with a wingspan of about 8 feet in width. We were told that the biggest manta that has come to these feedings is a male measuring almost 18 feet in width!
The whole trip is about 1.5 hours in length and there are both divers (these spots fill up quickly) and snorkelers accommodated on the tour.
Because these creatures are in their natural environment there is absolutely no touching allowed as we could hurt their protective membrane.
Words cannot describe the experience you will have on this adventure. When you are gazing down to the bottom of the sea, about 35 feet below and then all of a sudden like ballet dancers the mantas come gracefully onto the scene. They perform countless somersaults as they scoop up the plankton, mouths wide open. This is how they feed, and as they get closer and closer to you, sometimes even touching you ever so slightly - I guarantee your senses will go wild.
As the travel channel has said - This is one of the top ten things to do in your lifetime.
I highly recommend this adventure to all ages, it is an experience not to be missed on your next visit to the big Island.
For tour information contact Sea Paradise at: www.seaparadise.com/mns.htm
Also, here are a couple of videos from youtube, that might intrigue you:
