Tahuata is the only island in the Marquesas with some bays of white, sandy beaches and Turquoise water. It's the kind of scenery that you think of when you envision the South Pacific islands.

Manta Ray

And yes, a shark

As Hane Moe Noa Bay is known to have Manta Rays in it we decided to go snorkelling and see if we could find any. After a short dinghy ride to the north side of the bay we saw two of them so we anchored, put on our snorkels, masks and fins and jumped in with our cameras. These creatures are giant, often 6 to 14 feet from wing-tip to wing-tip but up to 22 feet and so graceful. They allowed us to follow them around for quite some time then I guess they were so comfortable with our presence that they decided to show off. They did loop de loops and rolls and at times swam directly toward us. They're plankton eaters so we didn't have to worry about sharp teeth and their behaviour was completely non-aggressive. We got some great pictures and excellent video. What a thrill to swim with these majestic voyagers of the sea!

09˚54.472S 139˚06.291W