Informational resource until the Administrative Committee of the Federal This prototype edition of theĭaily Federal Register on will remain an unofficial Each document posted on the site includes a link to theĬorresponding official PDF file on. The documents posted on this site are XML renditions of published Federal Register, and does not replace the official print version or the official It is not an official legal edition of the Federal And the plankton is attracted to the light.This site displays a prototype of a “Web 2.0” version of the dailyįederal Register. The manta rays visit this spot to feed on plankton. We are told that the babies are born like burritos, with their wings wrapped around them in a cocoon. They were very excited by the presence of the pregnant females. They appear genuinely excited for each encounter, and have names for most of the mantas. The biologists and naturalists that go out with these boats are fanatics. And there were many more of the smaller males that had wing spans from 8 to 10 feet. There were a number of bigger females that had wing spans about 16 feet across, several of which were pregnant. On this particular night there were over 30 individual mantas counted, a record number. We were very fortunate on our Hawaii manta ray snorkel. There was so much new and foreign in this entire experience that both of our minds went a bit more numb and quiet. Everywhere we looked, in every light, there were dozens of these huge graceful creatures turning circles. Then as we looked down, our minds started to really lose grip on reality.

If you are enjoying this Hawaii manta ray snorkel story, you will like our free monthly newsletter too. We could hear loud oohs and ahhs and giddy laughter coming out of the snorkels around us. Their underbellies were bright white, reflecting the lights. It was a little unnerving, but quickly became a moment of awe. And a huge winged creature suddenly flew up out of the depths right toward us and then started to turn big circles in front of our faces, getting as close as a foot away. We saw a movement coming out of the dark. Already this is really starting to feel like an alien experience.Īnd then it happened. And there were also about 50 divers on the sea bottom, all with handheld waterproof lights. Our guides also each had powerful handheld lights. When do you ever see that?Īs a group we swam a short ways away from the boat, until we found a big ring of very bright lights on the ocean floor, shining up into our eyes.

Swimming in the dark, in open ocean, with a hundred people with glow sticks on their snorkels was a completely unique experience all by itself. Each different boating company has their own color, so we could easily keep track of our own group. Once we had reached our destination our guides strapped colored glow sticks to our snorkels so that we could find each other in the dark on the water. Our Hawaii manta ray snorkel started in a surreal fashion and just kept getting more and more otherworldly. Our destination was just off shore from the airport north of Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii, in Makako Bay. We got on the boat at dusk, and motored out to sea, arriving after dark.

Giant manta ray face