The Manta Ray Night Dive just off shore of Hawaii really is one of those must do dives. It should be experienced and enjoyed by all divers. This is also a great experience if you prefer to snorkel or just haven’t gotten around to getting scuba certified. We went out with Big Island Divers out of Kona, Hawaii and I can recommend them highly.
This was a two tank package that included a dive in and near the same area that the Manta Ray Night Dive takes place with plenty of surface interval prior to nightfall.
This first dive was dubbed the Garden Eels Reef for obvious reasons. The eels are in less than 80’ of water and there are many. It's a great place to see them shallowish water, if memory serves they were around 60’-70’ which is unusual for me. I usually see them at depths of 100’+. We also saw a nice sized Whitetip Reef Shark, a Lionfish, a Crown of Thorns, eels and of course the currently unofficial Hawaiian state fish the Humuhumunukunukuapua'a. It is pronounced: hoomoo - hoomoo - nookoo - nookoo - ah - poo - ah - ah, quite a mouthful. It means fish with a pig's nose.
Date = 27 Oct 09, Max depth = 78’, Vis = 100’+, Water temp = 79*F. Dive time = 57 Minutes
The second dive of course was The Manta Ray Night Dive. It was amazing just to see so many divers at one time shining their lights up through the water column and watching the exhaust bubbles straining to reach the surface. But when the rays showed up it was breathtaking. There were about 10 there this night and they ranged in size from about 7’ to 12’ wingspans. We were told that for every foot of wingspan the animal would weigh approximately 100 lbs. But for their size they were some of most graceful and majestic animals I have ever witnessed. So much power and yet so fluid in their movements these animals would come within literally an inch of your head to collect the planton swarming around you light.
Each diver has a light of course and groups of buddy teams sit on the bottom around a set of fixed lights that lay on the bottom, in the sand, shining up toward the surface. This set of fixed lights, called the “Camp Fire,” along with each diver’s light shining toward the surface helps attract and concentrate the plankton, which in turn draws the rays into the area. Since this has been going on for so long the rays are conditioned to come to the lights knowing that there is an easy meal awaiting them.
The mantas have distinct markings on their underside in the “chest” area. Their undersides are white and the markings are black and as unique as fingerprints. These marks are used to identify individual animals and of course they have all been given colorful names.
There is also a resident Undulated Eel that likes to ham it up for the cameras. They call him Frank and he made a brief appearance on this night. He is known to wrap himself around divers and go in and out of their BCs.
This was a fantastic dive and if you are a diver, well worth the Hawaii trip all by itself. The newer you are to scuba diving the more spectacular this dive should be for you.
There is a lady there that does professional video and she travels around to all the different buddy teams and gets good video of the mantas circling above and around your head. Afterward you can buy her work in the parking lot for a reasonable fee. She broadcasts the nights work from a TV monitor mounted on top of her car when you get back to the dock. We picked up a copy.
Date = 27 Oct 09, Max depth = 35’, Vis = 100’ across the camp fire, Water temp = 74*F. Dive time = 50 Minutes.
Watch the videos in this link for a good taste of what to expect.
Manta Ray Night Dive Kona Hawaii, Number 1 night dive Hawaii Island
Kudos to Russ, the boat captain and Luke the DM. Great job gentlemen!!
This was a two tank package that included a dive in and near the same area that the Manta Ray Night Dive takes place with plenty of surface interval prior to nightfall.
This first dive was dubbed the Garden Eels Reef for obvious reasons. The eels are in less than 80’ of water and there are many. It's a great place to see them shallowish water, if memory serves they were around 60’-70’ which is unusual for me. I usually see them at depths of 100’+. We also saw a nice sized Whitetip Reef Shark, a Lionfish, a Crown of Thorns, eels and of course the currently unofficial Hawaiian state fish the Humuhumunukunukuapua'a. It is pronounced: hoomoo - hoomoo - nookoo - nookoo - ah - poo - ah - ah, quite a mouthful. It means fish with a pig's nose.
Date = 27 Oct 09, Max depth = 78’, Vis = 100’+, Water temp = 79*F. Dive time = 57 Minutes
The second dive of course was The Manta Ray Night Dive. It was amazing just to see so many divers at one time shining their lights up through the water column and watching the exhaust bubbles straining to reach the surface. But when the rays showed up it was breathtaking. There were about 10 there this night and they ranged in size from about 7’ to 12’ wingspans. We were told that for every foot of wingspan the animal would weigh approximately 100 lbs. But for their size they were some of most graceful and majestic animals I have ever witnessed. So much power and yet so fluid in their movements these animals would come within literally an inch of your head to collect the planton swarming around you light.
Each diver has a light of course and groups of buddy teams sit on the bottom around a set of fixed lights that lay on the bottom, in the sand, shining up toward the surface. This set of fixed lights, called the “Camp Fire,” along with each diver’s light shining toward the surface helps attract and concentrate the plankton, which in turn draws the rays into the area. Since this has been going on for so long the rays are conditioned to come to the lights knowing that there is an easy meal awaiting them.
The mantas have distinct markings on their underside in the “chest” area. Their undersides are white and the markings are black and as unique as fingerprints. These marks are used to identify individual animals and of course they have all been given colorful names.
There is also a resident Undulated Eel that likes to ham it up for the cameras. They call him Frank and he made a brief appearance on this night. He is known to wrap himself around divers and go in and out of their BCs.
This was a fantastic dive and if you are a diver, well worth the Hawaii trip all by itself. The newer you are to scuba diving the more spectacular this dive should be for you.
There is a lady there that does professional video and she travels around to all the different buddy teams and gets good video of the mantas circling above and around your head. Afterward you can buy her work in the parking lot for a reasonable fee. She broadcasts the nights work from a TV monitor mounted on top of her car when you get back to the dock. We picked up a copy.
Date = 27 Oct 09, Max depth = 35’, Vis = 100’ across the camp fire, Water temp = 74*F. Dive time = 50 Minutes.
Watch the videos in this link for a good taste of what to expect.
Manta Ray Night Dive Kona Hawaii, Number 1 night dive Hawaii Island
Kudos to Russ, the boat captain and Luke the DM. Great job gentlemen!!
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