A friend and I stumbled upon a Moai statue underwater. The statue had a good amount of surface growth on it as if it been underwater for a long time. Is It possible Typhoon Trami uncovered this statue? or did someone place it there on purpose for an underwater treasure hunt? Typhoon Trami was devastating and destroyed the coral and killed a good amount of marine life.
Moai statue- Ryukyu Islands
Regardless if the underwater statue is authentic or not, I was excited when I found it. I have never seen anything like this underwater. I got the same feeling when I went to Yonaguni to see the underwater monument.
- Moai replica statue size: Two feet in length
- Dive spot: Kadena north steps
- Location: Okinawa, Japan.
- Depth: Forty-five feet
Moai statue- Ryukyu Islands
Recent update: The mystery has been solved. It was purposely placed there by a dive instructor for a treasure hunt! The statue is not authentic but still a cool find.
I was not well prepared to photograph a subject of this size. The plan was to photograph tiny nudibranchs and gastropods. I had my underwater rig setup with a designated 60mm macro lens.
Underwater Equipment used:
- Nikon D500 +Nikon AF-S 60mm macro lens
- Nauticam Na-D500
- Light & Motion Sola 3800
- Sea & Sea YS-D2 strobes
Please do not use any images without my permission. Know your nature with Shawn Miller, have a great day!