Big Things Off A Big Island With Not So Big A People...

While I was in Hawaii meeting my brand new niece Jaiden, I was fortunate enough to go on a 3 day romp (do I really want to say 'romp?') with 3 of my friends to Big Island.  This was my second time visiting this gorgeous island, but the first time I was able to make a dream come true..  Diving with the magnificent Manta Rays!

Ever since I began scuba diving, it has been my dream to dive off Big Island at night with these graceful creatures.  I have always wanted to see a Manta out in the wild and was stoked to have seen my first one while diving off The Great Barrier Reef in Australia!  They are just amazing and HUGE!

We dove with a company recommended to me by my friend, Randy, called Kona Honu Divers (who I totally recommend as they are most accommodating).  We met at the dive shop at about 2:30 or so in the afternoon to check in.  We arrived at the dock a little later and met up with a group of about 12.  This was a 2 tank dive, the first one being a twilight dive, just before sunset.  We got in the water and followed our guide to about 55 feet in depth.  We saw plenty of fish, eels and colorful corals.  Then it happened...

I saw something in the distance swimming like one of the Brown Stingrays I used to work with.  As I "stood" there staring at it, Marisa tapped me on the shoulder and pointed to a large Manta Ray swimming only a few yards from us!  I turned back towards my animal and I realized that it, too, was a Manta!  Soon we were in the midst of 9 Manta Rays during daylight!  It was amazing!  The whole time the whales were singing as well creating a wonderful atmosphere for us divers!

By the time we were finished with our first dive, we were all freezing.  Marisa and I, being the geniuses we are, forgot dry clothes as well as towels...  how many dives have we been on??  While we froze on the boat, the crew fed us sandwiches and chips and talked about the Mantas.  They tell the difference between each one by the patterns on their bellies.  I thought this was interesting as I learned more about these rays.

Our night dive was even more amazing!  Before we even got in the water, you could see, from the lights they planted on the ocean floor, that the Mantas were already feeding on the plankton.  I was the first one in and as I waited for my friends, I peered below me to see a couple of Mantas swimming just below me and all around!

We made our way to the floor, flashlights in hand, and took Terri's idea to heart.  Marisa, Jen, Terri and I kneeled next to each other and put our flashlights together.  You see, the plankton are attracted to the light and the Mantas are obviously attracted to the plankton.  Hence, the more the plankton, the more the Mantas!  Genius!  

I think this was the coldest dive I have ever been on.  We had a discussion before the dive that if we get too cold to let our guide know so we can surface.  We knew we would get cold but once we were in with the 15 Mantas, there was NO way we were surfacing!  That's right!  We had 15 Mantas come out doing their acrobatics all around us!  They even came from behind!  Marisa and I screamed the whole entire time because they got so close to us.  Let's just say we got head-butted a couple times as well as whipped by a couple tails, but WE did not do the touching like were instructed not to do...

The following is a video I compiled of the footage I caught.  It's kind of long and I kept our bubbles and screams on it for your hearing pleasure.  If you wait until the very end, you can actually see and hear me get hit in the head by one of the Mantas...  I apologize if it's not the best video, but hey, it's my first time ever editing video and posting it!  So enjoy what you can!