Manta Rays!

Before we came to Kona, a good friend of ours told us that we HAD to do the night time Manta Ray dive. Basically, you hire a boat to take you 25 miles from the harbor, where you join several other boats doing the same thing. About half the people there are snorkelers and half are divers. The divers suit up in their SCUBA gear and dive to the sea floor 45 feet below with their giant lights. The snorkelers then arrange themselves in giant rings on the top, shining lights downward. All this light attracts plankton, which is what the mantas feed on. And by now, they know that the light means food, so it doesn't take them long to arrive. Over the years, the people who keep track of these things have catalogued 196 different manta rays in the area (they each have distinct spots and streaks on their belly). On any given night five or six show up for the dive. But now it's mating season, and for about the past month, they've been getting between 15 and 30 per night.

First off, when most people think manta ray, they think sting ray. They're not the same thing. Although the mantas have a long pointy tail, it's not dangerous. Secondly, sting rays (at least in my mind) are not nearly as giganto-huge as the manta rays I saw last night. Manta wingspan is anywhere from 10-20 feet, and when they're swimming right next to you, it seems way bigger. However, they don't have teeth, and though they could fit several humans in their mouth, they aren't interested in people (at least as food). They're not scared of them either. So when mantas see the lights they come gliding under you, gracefully flapping their wings, and then backflip up, scooping in all the plankton close to the lights, showing you their belly (and wide mouth) as they fly by. Just take a look at the video below and you'll see what I mean. And no, I'm not zooming in. These things were less than an inch from me.

This first video was taken very shortly after we entered the water and before we positioned ourselves above the SCUBA divers, which turned out to be fortuitous since their lights didn't lend themselves to good video.

And this video gives you a sense of the melee that ensues once all the lights are in place. Fish join the party, and then the bubbles start floating up, and it gets very busy. Then there are those 20-foot wide creatures circling all around you. I had to remind myself to keep breathing.

It's nearly impossible to get good pictures in the dark conditions, but these shots give you a sense for the mantas sweeping by (above) and then starting their upward flip with mouth open (below). Try staring that in the face and not flinching at least a little.

More Kahalu'u

Wrasses

This is a coronet fish. You can see its size relative to the Tang on the right.

Lei Triggerfish, a cousin of the humu.

Two HUGE butterflyfish -- again, compare to the Tang in the lower left.

Moorish Idol

Pinktail Durgon

Several types of urchins.

I followed this wrasse for several minutes as it flashed its rainbow tail -- see video below.

Honaunau Bay

Honaunau Bay is one of the best snorkeling areas in the state, and not just because it's teeming with fish. The water is clear and the underwater topography is highly varied, with several types of coral, undulating reefs and deep gulleys separating the shallower areas.

"So, Nate, where would you like to go today?"

"I hear Honaunau Bay is spectacular!"

You get a sense for the different types of coral and depth of the bay in this short video.

Saddleback Butterfly

Threadfin Butterfly

Hawaiian Spotted Pufferfish

The Bullethead Parrotfish is usually a two or three feet long. You can see one on the left.

Feeding time for this school of Yellow Tang (see video below).

Kahalu'u Beach

When we made the decision to travel to Hawai'i a couple months ago, everyone told us that three months was the best time for children to travel. Nonetheless, we were a bit nervous, especially since Nate had never been more than about twenty miles from home. But he was a complete superstar during the whole trip. He had some good floor time at the LAX airport, and then tucked into our laps for the six-hour flight, sleeping for about half of it. We walked through the cabin, and at one point, I turned around and looked back through the cabin to see about twenty smiling faces directed our way. "What an adorable baby," I congratulated myself. Then I realized I was standing right under the television. Oh well. At least he wasn't crying. We had our first ever diaper-change in an airline bathroom (NOT recommended), then our second ever change in an airline bathroom about five minutes later (slightly better). Nate had a bit of trouble with jet lag on that first day, but all in all, it was an astounding success, and we were once again reminded that we just might have the best baby in the world. Not that we're biased. Pictures of Nate to follow. This first installment, however, is dedicated to Kahalu'u Beach, an easily accessible site from Kona, where we're staying. It's one of the most popular snorkel sites in the world, and you can see why below.

There's really only one way to start an account of snorkeling in Hawai'i, and that's with a shot of the state fish, the Humuhumunukunukuapua'a.

Ornate Butterfly

Orangespine Surgeonfish

Moorish Idol

Idol and Ornate Wrasse

Spotted Grouper

In the background (hiding between the two pieces of coral) is a Bullhead Parrotfish

These yellow tang were playing hide-and-seek around this rock.

If we all lived in a yellow submarine, it might look like this.

If you look carefully you can see a Coronetfish right near the surface.

Ornate Wrasse

Raccoon Butterfly

Two types of urchin

And one Honu, or Green Sea Turtle, which was nice enough to let me follow it for about 20 minutes. See the video below.