Rhoda Wall

Meet the site

Rhoda Wall is one of Christmas Island's better-known wall dives, and one with a reputation for whale sharks – Diveplanit's site page calls it 'the whale shark dive'. Extra Divers list it as Rhoda Beach, describing a stunning wall dive that melts into a fish-filled ridge, off the beaten track.

The topography is more varied than most of the island's walls. The dive starts on a gentle slope from about 9 m with beautiful coral stacks and large plate corals. At around 20 m the slope turns vertical and the wall drops into the blue. A 45-degree ramp forms a corner between two sections of wall, which Diveplanit compares to the side of a quarry, giving a natural route down and back up. Royal blue hydrocorals grow on the wall, and schools of yellow and pink fusiliers pour along it.

Fish life is rich: chevroned butterflyfish, spotted hawkfish, honeycomb rockcod and midnight snapper on the reef, and grey reef sharks in the blue – Diveplanit reports a school of about two dozen at 28 m. The reason divers ask for Rhoda, though, is the chance of whale sharks in the wet season. Encounters here have been remarkably close, with animals swimming straight towards divers before turning away into deep water. As with all whale shark sightings on the island they are never guaranteed, and are most likely in the weeks after the red crab spawn.

Rhoda Wall suits intermediate divers comfortable on a wall and with depths of 20–30 m. Its combination of a coral-covered slope for the second half of the dive and a sheer wall below makes it good for mixed-experience groups, as less experienced divers can stay on the slope while others drop down the face.

What you might see

Whale sharks (Nov–Apr), grey reef sharks, yellow and pink fusiliers, midnight snapper, chevroned butterflyfish, spotted hawkfish, honeycomb rockcod, royal blue hydrocorals, plate corals

Location

Wall dive on the north-west coast: a gentle coral slope that turns into a vertical wall at about 20 m, with a 45-degree ramp between two wall sections.

Facilities nearby

Departs Flying Fish Cove jetty/ramp.