Manta Ray Resort is on the northeast tip of the island of Nanuyabalavu, and most cruisers when visiting the area anchor off the west side of Drawaqa Island, and we fell in line with everyone else. Lumbaz, Breeze, and Field Trip were all there already, along with a few other boats, so it wasn’t easy to find a good spot to anchor. The anchorage is steep to, so it’s difficult to find the sweet spot between having enough scope out and having enough swing radius. It’s also littered with coral heads, so the shifting current makes it difficult to keep your chain from wrapping. Our first time there we had to reanchor in order to put out more scope, and our second time there we had to reanchor because we wrapped a bombie. We were lucky that both times we were there, conditions were mild, because it’s really not a spot you’d want to be if there’s any sort of weather.
The resort is low key, nothing big like Port Denareau or Musket Cove. Our first evening there we took advantage of the restaurant and had a relaxing pizza dinner on shore. We ordered a couple pizzas at a time and just kept them coming until we’d had enough. Alex and Brenden were enjoying being back with their kid boat posse, and I was enjoying being back with some of my sailing sisters.
As the name might imply, the main reason people visit this location is to swim with the manta rays. At the right tidal conditions, the mantas feed in the waters between the islands of Drawaqa and Naviti. We would pay attention to the boat traffic from the resort, because they would send a scout boat out at about the right time to make sure the mantas were there, and then they’d load up a bunch of guests to go swim with them. When we saw the tourists heading out, we started gathering our gear and suiting up.
Swimming with the mantas was absolutely phenomenal, unreal almost. They are so big and majestic, and they really take very little notice of you. The bunch of tourists cleared out shortly after we got there, since they weren’t wearing wetsuits, and their stamina was much lower. Then we had the mantas all to ourselves. I enjoyed the mantas very much because they just swim around you without caring that you are there, kind of like the whale sharks in Mexico. Much better than the sting rays in Moorea that mob you because they want you to feed them. I think all of the kids could have swum with them forever, but eventually, the mantas headed off until the next feeding time. These manta photos were taken by our friends on Breeze.
Gresham Family Exodus 