Ever imagined a wave that wrapped so much you could surf it all the way around an island? It’s the stuff of schoolboy daydreams, getting caught by the teacher doodling impossibly perfect surf breaks in the back of your maths book.  Well, take a two-hour boat trip out of Exmouth, 13 hours drive from Perth in WA’s remote north-west, and you could be surfing the closest thing to reality when it comes to 360 degree surfing circumnavigations.

Muiron Island is a jagged limestone island with a white sandy beach that is usually bypassed by game fishing and scuba diving boats heading further north to Barrow Island and a collection of offshore reefs. Unless you’ve got a reliable boat and are confident heading offshore, the only way to get there for a surf is aboard the Heron, a 16 metre motor cruiser. The vessel is the only dedicated surfing charter boat based out of Exmouth, operating from April to September when solid winter swells travel up the WA coast.

The day starts at 5.30am when Longbreak joins a group of five keen surfers loading boards onto the Heron for a pre-sunrise departure from the marina. Within 15 minutes, humpback whales are breaching alongside as the Heron heads offshore.

The talk is all about swell charts and what conditions are likely as we watch the sunrise over a breakfast of bacon and eggs, the anticipation building during the two-hour voyage to our destination. The ocean is a glassy mirror. Seabirds dive bomb schools of passing bait fish. Overhead a sea eagle circles lazily. In the distance, Muiron Island appears and, sure enough, swell lines of whitewater are curling and bending around the low cliff face, feathered by a stiff offshore.

The island ideally needs a three-metre swell and mid to low tide to start working, and when conditions come together it can produce head-high waves that reel off mechanically for up to 500 metres. It doesn’t barrel and is perhaps a little slow for short boarders. But if you’ve got a longboard or a mini-mal in the quiver get ready for one incredible ride.

The anchor chain is still rattling down but the boys are straight over the side, and within minutes the air is thick with cries and whoops as a set bowls across the reef and stands up at the take-off zone at the top of the island. It’s a jacking take-off over shallow irregular boulders and the wave peels off fast. This is the hairiest section and you have to have your wits about you as the wave peels in very close to the cliff and bends around a 90 degree corner with only inches to spare.

Once you make it past the cliff you can breathe easy and enjoy the ride. The wave bowls up again (this is a second, mellower take-off spot for those not keen to start right out the back) and spins down the reef for another 200 metres across a flat rock bottom covered in spongy reef. First it fattens out for sweeping cutbacks and cruising, then the wave races down the reef again, providing the perfect opportunity to hone your skills at walking the plank. Finally this little gem of a wave hits another corner of the island and bends again.

By now it’s lost most of its punch but still keeps peeling of mechanically across the reef and bends into a perfect white sandy beach that is home to some bleached whale bones. Ride it all the way to shore and step off on the sand. Congratulations! You’ve just surfed a wave through 220 degrees.

The paddle back would take a solid 10 minutes but aboard the Heron you don’t have to worry. The charter comes complete with unlimited use of a turbo-charged Sea Doo jet ski. The chef and deckhand, Paulie, loves nothing more than fanging around on the ski, ferrying surfers back at the top of the line-up, giving your burning legs only a few moments rest before the next set rolls in.  

Muiron Island is an epic wave but the real beauty of this spot is its isolation. Paulie reckons Heron guests have never had to share the wave with a single other competing surfer. The island is also perfect for beach combing, with big conch shells, turtle skeletons and bleached whale bones to be found. After five hours in the water surfing like teenagers, the hunger pangs start to kick in.

Aboard the boat, a feast of steak sandwiches, Greek salad, jaffles and fresh fish is laid out. As the tide fills up Captain Andy ups anchor and we head to a nearby shoal to wet a line. If the best fish you’ve caught is a bream of only just legal size off the bridge in your local river, get ready for some real action and the experience of a lifetime - fishing around Muiron. Within half an hour the esky is stacked with red emperor, rankin cod, snapper and spangled emperor - all good fighting fish and, more importantly, delicious eating.

With dinner taken care of, it was time to head back to the surf for the afternoon session as the tide dropped out again. Longbreak couldn’t stop laughing out loud. More perfect waves, peeling endlessly, with not a soul in sight.

“You’re like a cat that’s got the canary,’’ said Paulie, swinging the jet ski in close for another run back out to the take-off zone. Muiron is the first stop for the Heron on nine day charters 80 nautical miles further north to the surf-rich Montebello Islands, stopping at Barrow Island on the way. Barrow Island is better known for its thriving oil and gas industry, with drilling rigs dotting the horizon.

But it also offers a thick left-hand reefbreak which can get heavy and hollow in a big swell. On smaller days, Barrow Left is a fun wave suited to longboards and minimals, but it can be quick and booties are recommended for the shallow reef. The marine life around Barrow is also thriving. Humpback whales frolicked in the distance. A giant manta ray cruised past the boat, lazily feeding. On the beach, we could see turtles dragging themselves through the sand.

The fishing, too, is sensational. One morning Longbreak and one or two other hardy souls got up for a pre-dawn session while most of the other boys slept it. For thirty minutes before sunrise, we hooked a dozen choice blue-line snapper, hauling them up from the dark pre-dawn depths flashing blue, brown and silver. The best specimens went on ice, to be crumbed and pan fried for lunch that afternoon. All too soon our time in this magic part of the world is up.

On the return journey there is time for another surf at Muiron Island – more mindboggling long lefts – and then it’s back to the marina and a return to civilization. There are definitely better, more accessible waves to surf in WA than Muiron and Barrow islands. But it’s well worth the trip just to experience the unique set-ups and to have a crack at surfing more than half way around an island. Throw in stunning scenery, zero crowds, amazing marine life and world-class fishing, and it’s a memorable part of any trip to WA’s north.

Shorter day trips or overnight stays surfing only Muiron Island can also be organised, giving surfers plenty of time to check out the other waves on offer around Exmouth. Dunes is the best known and most popular surfing beach close to Exmouth. It is a sand-covered reef break offering lefts and rights a short drive out of town. Exmouth Bommie is the heaviest wave in the area. Above head high it can be a mean, pitching left-hand barrel breaking over shallow, grating reef. On smaller days however, long, fun, peeling waves are up for grabs in balmy, crystal-clear water.

About 60km south from Exmouth along the ocean road is Yardy Creek, one of the real gems on this stretch of coast. It breaks 1.5km out to sea on the edge on Ningaloo Reef, and can get crowded with locals and visitors, even though a boat is essential to make it out to the line-up. Yardy Creek is an Indo-style left hander, peeling for several hundred metres with a predictable barrel section in the middle. It’s a challenging wave on the longboard, working best on mid to high tide. Just remember to kick out before the end section sucks dry. Further south, in the Cape Range National Park, there are some amazing places to set up camp if you have a four-wheel-drive. There’s more secret outer-reef waves along this coast too, so if you have some time, a reliable boat and a good set of charts it’s worth hunting around for waves.

All these breaks work best from April to September when solid winter swells generated in the southern Indian Ocean travel up the coast of Western Australia and go all the way to Indonesia. The water is a balmy 22 degrees at this time of year and thermal rash vests or short johns are only needed to keep the wind chill at bay. Booties are recommended because most waves break over coral reef and can get shallow.