Dive Trip Report – The Famous Kona Night Manta Dive

Dive Trip Report – The Famous Kona Night Manta Dive

By Jeff Seckendorf

I recently did one of the dives I'll never forget.

I spend most of my time diving Southern California because the ocean is close (very close), but a few months ago we took off for Kona for a lazy week. Along the way I heard about this famous night dive with the Manta Rays. I couldn't really tell if it was a tourist thing or not, but everyone I spoke with said do it. So I signed on for a boat trip with Kona Hona Divers.

And it was nothing short of incredible. Awe-inspiring. Truly amazing.

The local operators have this down. We boarded late afternoon. It was about 20 minutes to the site, and there were already a few other boats there. By sunset, maybe five dive boats were moored in a circle. A DM hopped in the water with a milk crate filled with lights, all pointing up. He set it in the center of the boats, and within minutes, the Mantas arrived.

It's simple - the light attracts the plankton, the mantas get a huge feast.

There were probably 50 divers in a circle surrounding the crate, which looked like a cross between a campfire and a searchlight. Then one by one, the giant animals arrived. They skimmed the lights that we held, and skimmed across the cameras. It was a ballet and it was an aerobatic routine. In slow motion, the rays swept through the water with their mouths agape, first at the bottom, then toward the surface where a group of snorkelers had their own lights. Sometimes a ray would completely cover my field of view, and as it trailed off behind me I'd see five more rays and a bait ball, all swirling around the lights.

This went on for 45 or 50 minutes, and if I could have I would have stayed for hours. If you're on the Island, don't miss this one.

Click here for my little video clip.