Swim with manta rays in their natural habitat in Hawaii. Photo / 123rf
Swim with manta rays in their natural habitat in Hawaii. Photo / 123rf
In Hawaii, Brett Atkinson adheres to a strict "no touch" manta ray experience, but the same can't be said for these surprisingly social creatures.
After exploring Honolulu's craft breweries and diving into the food scene on Maui, we're now on Hawaii – known locally as the "Big Island" - anddiscovering just how far a wetsuit can stretch after a week of eating and drinking. Joining us in Fair Wind Cruises' dockside greeting area are fellow travellers from around the mainland United States, all equally keen to experience one of Hawaii's most unique wildlife experiences.
The island state's tropical twilight descends quickly as Fair Wind's Hula Kai sets out from Keauhou Bay on the Big Island's leeward and more protected Kona Coast. Inland, Hawaii's famed Kona coffee plantations shroud nearby hills, and it's a short five-minute journey for the 17m catamaran to reach "Manta Village" amid the bay's sheltered waters.
Fair Wind's Hula Kai sets out from Keauhou Bay on the Big Island's protected Kona Coast. Photo / Jordan Lema
With an authoritative mini-lecture from Hulu Kai's naturalist, we learn about the graceful creatures known to scientific types as Mobula alfredi (reef manta rays), and a delicate floating raft framed by bright floodlights is carefully laid out off the back of the boat.
Equipped with masks, snorkels, flippers and Day-Glo foam pool 'noodles' to assist with buoyancy, we make the short swim to the edge of the floating raft and await the beginning of the evening's entertainment. Arrayed around the raft, all of us with our face masks in the water, Tammy from Taos and Chuck from Chicago are equally expectant.
Several manta rays glide beneath, providing a thrilling encore. Photo / Penn Henderson
Within just a few minutes, the bright lights start to do their job, and swarming masses of plankton are attracted to the illumination of the inky waters, the intense gathering of basic organisms soon resembling a murky primordial soup. Big fish attracted by the night's spontaneous buffet emerge from the indigo darkness, swimming sleekly past us as an underwater studio of GoPro cameras is fired up to try to capture the action. The fish are definitely too fast to be captured on film, zipping speedily underneath and around us for at least 15 minutes, a thrilling supporting act before the arrival of the evening's headliners. Elsewhere on the bay, we're beginning to hear whoops of excitement from other boats, so we know it's only a matter of time.
Suddenly from out of the marine darkness, Mobula alfredi, some weighing almost 1000kg and with a wingspan of up to 5m, emerge to swoop, glide and barrel roll just centimetres away from us. Earlier advice that all the bay's mantas can be individually identified is reinforced by their diversity of markings, some with delicate spots on their underbellies, and others with distinctive indicators on their wing tips. After the frenzied action of earlier piscine visitors, being in the water with the huge rays is a far more relaxed experience.
Out of the marine darkness, Mobula alfredi emerge to swoop, glide and barrel roll. Photo / Getty
Despite their massive size, manta rays are completely harmless to human interlopers, and they continue to surge through the underwater haze of nutrients we're now all sharing. Giant mouths scoop up thousands of plankton in one graceful, somersaulting pass, and it's not uncommon for the giant creatures to brush gently against our arms and legs. We're all following a strict "no touching" protocol, but there's no reciprocal restrictions from the mantas, with their skin resembling the smoothest grade of sandpaper as they occasionally make fleeting contact.
The show continues for at least 45 minutes, and the benefit of being first in the water means we're also among the last to get out. After most others have reboarded the Hulu Kai, several more manta rays arrive to glide beneath us and provide a thrilling encore. Even when we're finally climbing back up the boat's ladder, a couple of the surprisingly social creatures are still mooching up against us in the tropical waters of the bay.
It's an exceptional coda to an essential experience on Hawaii's biggest island.
CHECKLIST:
When to go: The manta rays of the Big Island's Kona coast are resident year-round, but visiting from May to November is recommended to avoid the occasionally rougher waters of winter in Hawaii.
Planning ahead: Fair Wind Cruises celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2021. As well as evening manta ray adventures, they also offer daytime snorkelling and paddleboarding experiences visiting other Big Island coastal locations, including Kealakekua Bay, where the life of Captain James Cook was ended in 1779. fair-wind.com
Alternative option: It's also possible to see the manta rays of Keauhou Bay from the Outrigger Kona Resort & Spa. The bay's fascinating visitors were first attracted to lights from the Kona Surf Hotel in the 1970s. The property is now part of the Outrigger network, and a special platform near the hotel's terrace restaurant provides night-time manta ray views over the bay's waters. outrigger.com
