WATCH: The Magic of Night Swimming With the Gentle Giants of Hawaii

There is almost nothing more terrifying yet magical then being out in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Hawaii’s Big Island, with 18-foot-wide, alien-looking beings swimming backwards loops just millimeters from your face. One of the most fascinating things to experience in Hawaii is to take a night swim with giant Manta rays. Although fierce looking — with triangular fins, horn-shaped cephalic fins, gaping maws, and long, sharp tails — they are not to be confused with some of their fiercer cousins (think sharks or Steve Irwin and his unfortunate demise).