One day when I was snorkeling 1/4 mile off Wailea on Maui, I saw a fluttering black ghost traversing the depths. I paused, looked down, and saw the undulating wings of a giant manta ray, a rare site off the Valley Isle and rare still in the daylight hours. These gentle giants with 20-foot wing spans love Hawaii and why not? Warm waters. Lots of good food. Hands down, the best place on the planet to touched (I do mean this literally) by a manta ray is the Kona Coast of the Big Island where mantas come to feed in on microscopic plankton attracted to the spotlights up from the sandy bottom by divers seeking to attract the rays. Visitors to the depths huddle on the bottom, peering upwards as the rays glide by, their spooky mouth’s agape scooping up an evening meal. Granted, this is not a solitary adventure by any stretch but one well worth taking once in a lifetime.

Manta Ray Dive on the Hula Kai

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