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.

Fly from Perth (about 4 hours, two to three flights a week, some via Cocos Islands) and hire a car – there is no public transport. Both dive centres are in The Settlement and launch their boats from the jetty/boat ramp at Flying Fish Cove, normally at about 8 am for a two-dive morning trip. From the cove the boat runs west from the cove past Smith Point and then south-west along the north coast along the coast for roughly 15 minutes to the site below Rhoda Beach.

There is no land access to the dive, and the vertical sea cliffs mean no exit other than the boat. Operators choose sites on the morning according to swell and wind.

On the north coast, which is in the lee of the south-east trade winds from roughly April/May to November – that is the calm, reliable season here with glassy seas and 30 m+ visibility. From about December to March/April the north-west monsoon brings northerly and north-westerly swell (and occasional cyclone-generated swell) that can make the north coast undiveable and the Flying Fish Cove ramp unusable for days; Extra Divers treat February–April as peak swell season when trips are often cancelled. Any swell over about 1.5 m from the north-west quarter usually cancels the site.

Visibility dips after heavy rain run-off from the plateau and during red crab spawning (Oct–Jan) when plankton blooms. Tides are small (about 1 m) and rarely matter, but currents along the coast can pick up without warning.

Descend onto the slope at about 9 m, follow it down past the coral stacks to the top of the wall at 20 m, then along the wall to the 45-degree ramp. Hold 20–28 m while watching the blue, then come back up the ramp and across the slope, finishing on the shallow reef.

Extra Divers Christmas Island (lists it as Rhoda Beach) and CI Wet'n'Dry Adventures – regular north-coast boat dive, popular in whale shark season.