We had heard there were manta rays in the Tuamotus, but hadn’t seen any. As you enter the main pass, there is a cardinal buoy just inside. You can tie a dinghy to it, drop to 65 feet between 8 am and 10 am…..enjoy!… Manihi Atoll – Tuamotu Atolls
The main differences between the Manta’s here and San Benedicto in Mexico were size (these are smaller) and shyness. The mantas here are used to seeing people, but as they are “guided dives”, they haven’t gotten into being petted. Most “eco-friendly” operations have no touch policies. Blue Nui here in Manihi was no different. Manihi Atoll – Tuamotu Atolls
Mantas are attracted to water where there is lots of plankton; their main food supply. Hence, water clarity is often not the best. Visibility here was about 25 to 60 feet depending. Mostly depending on the current. It was extremely strong at the surface, but at only 20 feet deep, it virtually disappeared. Remember, we’re diving at the mouth of a pass inside a lagoon where the pass was the main entrance for the tide to rise and fall. When you’re in a mostly closed body of water that is 15 miles long by 3-4 miles wide, the tide (which does not rise and fall very far), still remains a dominant feature of “Atoll life”. Manihi Atoll – Tuamotu Atolls
There was no doubt in our minds, that if left to dive with this group of mantas for several days, they would have enjoyed “belly pets” just like their Mexican cousins. They kept getting “curiouser and curiouser”. Swimming closer and closer all the time. Manihi Atoll – Tuamotu Atolls
This is Serge (outgoing dive guide) and our friend Marc (incoming dive guide) from Fakarava. It was a complete coincidence that Marc got the job as the head of the Blue Nui Dive Center at the Pearl Beach Manihi Hotel just as we were arriving. You can see the Manta Ray in the background between them. Manihi Atoll – Tuamotu Atolls
As always, Marc enjoys being “a card” underwater. You can see the lack of water clarity behind them. Manihi Atoll – Tuamotu Atolls
You can see the large opening of this manta ray as he’s getting ready to filter feed. Position herself directly into the current, she’ll open here mouth and extend here gill plates about the size of a 55 gallon drum or more. Then the “cleaner fish” will begin to jump inside her mouth and gills to dine on damaged skin and parts that have parasites; often copepods. Manihi Atoll – Tuamotu Atolls
The manta is now just hovering in the current, taking in the planktonic soup. We see a slightly cloudy water, she somehow senses…..breakfast! Manihi Atoll – Tuamotu Atolls
Cleaning is a strategy that lots of large fish use sybiotically. If you look close, you can see 2 large remoras, a small fish below two fish near her mouth. The reason they come to this same spot every day is for the plankton AND to get cleaned. In diving lingo, this is known as a “Cleaning Station”. Manihi Atoll – Tuamotu Atolls
If you look closely, you’ll see a cleaner fish half inside her front gill plate. Just below and behind her eye, you can see a tail sticking out. This fish hasn’t been eaten, it’s swimming INSIDE her gills for a yummy morsel. YUM!… Manihi Atoll – Tuamotu Atolls
As in San Benedicto, Mexico, I didn’t swim to her, she swam to me. Though not yet bold enough to sit on my head (like Mexico), this manta with a bit of patience would have loved a belly pet. Maybe one day…. Manihi Atoll – Tuamotu Atolls
These graceful animals always look like a stealth aircraft in this view. Manihi Atoll – Tuamotu Atolls
Eating plankton, getting cleaned, cruising around the big bubble things (us). Ah, a manta’s life!… We actually saw a train of three mantas chasing each other. If and when I get the video online, it may show some of that behavior. Manihi Atoll – Tuamotu Atolls
This manta just kept getting closer and closer. She really seemed to want to interact. But we followed the local rules and just watched. We did see “fly bys” close enough to touch them, but alas, we kept our hands in our pockets…..Wilfred practically got a haircut by one fly by. Manihi Atoll – Tuamotu Atolls
Manihi Atoll – Tuamotu Atolls
Serge had been doing this dive for months. He was showing Marc the dive sites and how the mantas behave around the divers. Manihi Atoll – Tuamotu Atolls
Serge had been doing this dive for months. He was showing Marc the dive sites and how the mantas behave around the divers. Manihi Atoll – Tuamotu Atolls
Here, the manta hovered above me. Bet she wanted to play!… Manihi Atoll – Tuamotu Atolls
Least you think that Mantas were all that was here, we did our second dives outside the pass and were treated to a coral garden almost as nice as South Fakarava. Manihi Atoll – Tuamotu Atolls
I always feel that one sign of a healthy reef is large anemones with clown and damsel fish. We found several here as we did at Fakarava, Toau, Apataki and here at Manihi…. Anemone’s grow up to several feet across and are quite demanding (sensitive) to poor water quality. If they don’t have everything they need in an ecosystem they fail to thrive. Just ask anyone with a salt water home aquarium whose tried to keep them. Manihi Atoll – Tuamotu Atolls
There are three types of Lion Fish here in French Polynesia. As they hide during the day (This one’s in a crevace where I had to jam my camera in), they can be difficult to spot. All those lovely spine like projections you see have poisonous tips. Though not aggressive, you don’t want to go poking at one. Manihi Atoll – Tuamotu Atolls
There are many varieties and color patterns to these guys. They just “sit” on a rock or coral outcropping. They allow a pretty close approach. Manihi Atoll – Tuamotu Atolls
Another common fish of coral reefs, but lovely none-the-less. Manihi Atoll – Tuamotu Atolls
We had started to get our “small eyes” on after the swims with the mantas. This sea going shell-less critter is only about an inch long. Their bright coloration is a warning to most other animals, “see me? don’t eat me, I’m poisonous to you”…. Manihi Atoll – Tuamotu Atolls
This one we recognized. They use their lack of motion as a hiding scheme. At a certain comfort distance, they give it up and flee. Other fish however who use this strategy won’t budge and often allow a brush against them. That of course may be because it’s not a good idea to touch them!…. Manihi Atoll – Tuamotu Atolls
There are entire books devoted to these critters. They come in sizes from a few millimeters to over a foot long. All shapes, colors and sizes. There most notable feature is the fact that they are usually brightly colored. The small orange spots at the bottom of this photo are it’s gills. Manihi Atoll – Tuamotu Atolls
Here is Marc on the left and Serge below. As you can see, the manta is coming for a “curiosity fly by”. Very common and a thrilling experience. We got to meet Serge and Wilfred, dive again with Marc and meet Xavier and Ann Michel here in Manihi. All in all a great stop. Aurevoir Manihi!… Manihi Atoll – Tuamotu Atolls
Eating plankton, getting cleaned, cruising around the big bubble things (us). Ah, a manta’s life!… We actually saw a train of three mantas chasing each other. If and when I get the video online, it may show some of that behavior. Manihi Atoll – Tuamotu Atolls
