Manta Ray Night Dive (Garden Eel Cove)

By day this sandy shelf off Keahole Point is Garden Eel Cove, named for the colonies of Hawaiian garden eels that sway from the bottom near 12 m. After dark it becomes Manta Heaven: crews set powerful lights on the sand at about 11 m, the glow concentrates plankton into a bright column, and resident reef mantas with wingspans near 4 m sweep in to barrel roll through the swarm, mouths agape, sometimes passing inches above kneeling divers. Kona's catalog holds more than 200 identified individuals, so the show runs most nights of the year. A resident undulated moray nicknamed Frank often turns up to pick off fish drawn to the lights. Keahole Point shelters the cove from the summer south swell.