Manta Rays Up Close and Personal!!
Kristen convinced us of doing the "Manta Float" and now we want to pass that passion on to anyone who might want this experience…
As we rode in her well-used mini van over the mountain and down to the water’s edge, the sun was setting, looking all the world like one of those picturesque Hawaii postcards. We came to the public landing for putting boats in the water, and our guides were waiting with all the gear: wet suits, swim ‘noodles’, masks and snorkels, and a boat that would take 16 human ‘floaters’ and our 2 guides, Kris and Buddha. Kris owns the company and Buddha is the Manta Whisperer. And a whisperer he is! As a nearly blind person, they took care of me like I was their most precious cargo, guiding me every step of the way verbally and physically. We only had 11 floaters, one who spoke no English and even one who could not swim at all! Once we all had our gear in the right-fitting sizes, we were out of the inlet in no time, and moving over the ocean.
Heading out of the harbor just as sun sets.
View of the coastline as we head for our manta rendezvous.
After donning our gear, we all slipped into the water (surprisingly not cold) and swam to the raft while Kris moved the boat further away. Attached under the raft was a huge light that shone horizontally to the surface of the ocean, shining straight down into the water. The manta’s are drawn to all of the algae shining brightly under the light although Alim swore they were attracted to him because he had one under his face before he even got horizontal! Around the edge of the raft was a thick rope, attached to the raft at about 18 inch intervals where each floater can hold on, arms out-stretched and body flat on the surface of the water, noodle under the arms or the ankles, depending on the individual’s need in order to be as flat as possible. Shortly more mantas appeared, a bit shy at first and then soon quite comfortable to come within inches of our masks. We had been warned not to smile or laugh because it lets water into the mask and/or snorkel. We were all dumping water!
As we lay there as still as the ocean allowed, flat and focused, we stared in amazement as the mantas swam directly up toward us, all their fins and that HUGE mouth - larger than our heads - extended wide open for maximum intake of food. They swam directly up toward our faces as if to devour us, and then within inches of our masks, summersaulting to backwards at the instant and catching the light so brightly it was blinding in the moment. As they constantly came up toward us, we lay there, mesmerized and enthralled by the experience. It should have been terrifying to have that huge mouth coming at us, yet it could not have felt more peaceful. At one point, I realized the salty water in my eyes was not ocean but my own tears, moved beyond words by the beauty of it all. Like sailing, I had no idea how long we were in the water and eventually pulled away only at the insistence of Buddha. Like standing before a painting or statue created by the masters, no one wanted to detach. And who would; we had been up close and personal with God’s playful imagination. The boat ride back to shore was silent, all of us having had a spiritual encounter for which none of us had words.
We did not have waterproof cases to video the experience, but here is a link to a youtube made by Kris and Buddha that is far better than anything we could have done:
Aloha Ocean Excursions Manta
Should you be in Kona, there are many who offer manta night cruises, but while other groups had 2 or 3 mantas, we had 7! This is why we refer to Buddha as the Manta Whisperer.
