Island of Hawaii – Big Island
Hawaii – also known as the Big Island – is the name of the entire state and the largest island. Therefore we first chose a quarter on the western, dry side and later one on the eastern, rainforest side. A few years ago, near Kailua-Kona, to the west, the lighting of a beach hotel coincidentally created a nightly ocean plankton buffet for manta rays. We took advantage of a post-sunset tour to snorkel with the friendly giants. 10 manta rays came to feed and swam so close that they even brushed us a few times. “A manta kiss like this is a great honor,” say our guides.
