Bit the bullet.going for a swim with the mantas
Submitted by Faulkner Family on Fri, 2012-04-13 19:26
with our fast upcomming trip to coral bay we wanted to do something different.
We booked in for a dive with the manta rays . cant wait to get amongst them.
who else has done this before and what was it like for you
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RUSS and SANDY. A family that fishes together stays together
Travisd
Posts: 315
Date Joined: 07/05/11
yeh awesome
they're awesome, u'll love it
Baron Sportsman
Just the depth that Varies
Rob H
Posts: 5817
Date Joined: 18/01/12
Skippered one of the boats
Skippered one of the boats there for a season and a bit doing mantas about 15 years back.
Went to do a manta swim on a mates charter boat this time last year and it got canned as we were halfway to Mauds cos a huge thunderstorm rolled in. Rained on our tent first day there
After that all good for a fortnight!
You'll love it, its kind of the poor mans whale shark swim, except the mantas are often more active.
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
Faulkner Family
Posts: 18089
Date Joined: 11/03/08
not too sure on the whale
not too sure on the whale sharks yet. would like to but will cost us $750. not cheap but maybe
RUSS and SANDY. A family that fishes together stays together
Faulkner Family
Posts: 18089
Date Joined: 11/03/08
hopefully we will get plenty
hopefully we will get plenty of pics and video footage
RUSS and SANDY. A family that fishes together stays together
soupster51
Posts: 2724
Date Joined: 29/11/06
Mantas
You'll love it Russ. We have them here and get out with them quite often. They are quite playful and often swim so close to you that you can't pan back far enough to get a photo. It'll be an awesome experience and worth ever cent.
The best reason for doing what's right today is tomorrow.
Faulkner Family
Posts: 18089
Date Joined: 11/03/08
thats the sort of stuff im
thats the sort of stuff im hoping for. plan on having a camera running all the time we are in the water.
RUSS and SANDY. A family that fishes together stays together
Faulkner Family
Posts: 18089
Date Joined: 11/03/08
you got any good tips about
you got any good tips about swimming with these soupy
RUSS and SANDY. A family that fishes together stays together
soupster51
Posts: 2724
Date Joined: 29/11/06
Swimming
A can of worm Russ - everyone will have a different take on this. Where we swim with them is in a pass about 20m wide so they swim straight past us, we don't have to go looking for them and often just put a trailling line out the back of the boat with a float and hold on. I guess you have to remember they are a fish and not at all like a dolphin so they seem to shy away pretty quickly if you approach them head on. We often swim beside and behind but if we get in front the go deep pretty quickly. Having said that the occasional one (two, three, four, five) will swim right up to us and all around us before moving on. The bigger ones certainly aren't as skittish as the small ones. Have the camera on all the time as sometimes the 'photo window' is very short. I change my camera to the quickest reset time so that I don't even have the picture come up for viewing, just so I can take as many photos as possible. Look at them later. If you get to see them it will be something you never forget. Enjoy.
The best reason for doing what's right today is tomorrow.
Faulkner Family
Posts: 18089
Date Joined: 11/03/08
dont think a can of worms
dont think a can of worms would be much use with these guys
.
thanks mate. going to have a video camera running and a u/water camera ready to go as well. got it set up for rapid shooting like 5 p/second or something like that as well as just a single shot with a turn of a dial.
good to know you dont go head on to them but im sure we will be told that before we enter the water.
5 days till we hit the road
RUSS and SANDY. A family that fishes together stays together
Faulkner Family
Posts: 18089
Date Joined: 11/03/08
only doing the snorkle now.
only doing the snorkle now. cant afford the $195 each for medical.
. at least were going to be in the water with them
RUSS and SANDY. A family that fishes together stays together