Alan's Wall is a Passions of Paradise site on Norman Reef, named after the company's founder. The operator describes it as a deep-water site with an 18 m drop and many crevices and swim-throughs, with sharks, Maori wrasse and abundant fish, suitable for advanced divers and for snorkellers along the wall edge. The wall is the defining feature: from a shallow reef edge the coral drops steeply to about 18 m, and its face is broken by crevices, fissures and passages that divers can explore on the way down and back up.

These features give shelter to fish and make the dive more three-dimensional than a smooth wall. Reef sharks, typically whitetips and occasionally greys, patrol the base, and the Maori wrasse, which Norman is known for, often comes to investigate. Schools of fusiliers, surgeonfish and snapper hang off the face, and the crevices hold soldierfish, squirrelfish, coral trout and moray eels.

The upper wall and reef edge carry dense hard coral, while shade-loving soft corals and sea fans grow in the deeper crevices. Snorkellers can follow the edge of the wall and look down on divers below, which makes the site work for mixed groups on the Passions catamaran. Passions describes it as better suited to advanced divers, largely because of the depth and the swim-throughs, though Open Water divers comfortable at 18 m will manage with a guide.

It is often paired with Big Wall, another Passions site on Norman, on the same day. Visibility is typically 15-25 m, and the wall face is best lit from mid-morning onwards.

Boat access only. Cairns day boats leave from the Reef Fleet Terminal (1 Spence Street) and the neighbouring Marlin Marina on the city waterfront, with check-in between about 7:00 and 8:00 am; most operators run transfers from city and northern-beaches accommodation, and there is paid parking near the terminal. The run of about 58 km out through Trinity Inlet and across the lagoon to Norman Reef takes around 82 minutes on a fast catamaran and noticeably longer on slower dive boats or into a south-easterly chop.

Alan's Wall is a Passions of Paradise mooring; Cairns Dive Adventures also lists it among Norman sites. Enter from the stern steps.

The prevailing south-east trade winds (typically 15-25 knots from April to September) are what limit Cairns outer-reef diving: above about 25 knots trips may be cancelled, and exposed eastern moorings are used only in light winds. Summer northerlies are gentler but make north-facing moorings choppy. Box jellyfish and Irukandji are present from about November to May (stinger suits on every dive), and the cyclone season runs November to April, when a system in the Coral Sea can close the reef for days.

Visibility drops after heavy rain and strong winds; spring is usually calmest and clearest. Most Norman moorings lie on its protected western side. Alan's Wall is a deep-water site used when conditions allow; published detail on its exposure is limited.

Descend the wall to about 18 m, then work back and forth through the crevices and swim-throughs, rising gradually. Snorkellers follow the wall edge from the surface. Finish on the top of the wall at 5 m for the safety stop.

Passions of Paradise – day trips to Norman in suitable conditions; Norman is also worked by Divers Den (Ocean Quest liveaboard), Reef Experience, Aqua Quest, Down Under Cruise & Dive, Reef Encounter and Passions of Paradise; the mooring used on any day is chosen by the skipper according to wind, tide and other boats