Exploring the Globe: Around the World with SurfEXPLORE

No better place for a surfer to get over jet lag than on the island of Bali in Indonesia, kicking back at a favourite warung with a fresh tomato egg banana vegemite jaffle and a cold Milo while watching the afternoon sets at Uluwatu. Photo: SurfEXPLORE

At Jurassic Point in The Philippines, huge right barrels spin off a small island on the edge of the 10 000 foot deep Philippine Trench. Photo: SurfEXPLORE

Taiwan has China's most advanced surf culture, with good waves on both the east and west coast of the island and plenty of Chinese culture and great food. Photo: SurfEXPLORE

South Korea is emerging as a surf destination, with waves on the mainland and the southern holiday island of Jeju-do, where surfEXPLORE's Emiliano Cataldi pioneers a new wave at Squid Point. Photo: SurfEXPLORE

Springtime is a great season to visit the north shore of O'ahu. The reefs are scoured of sand, the swells are smaller but still consistent and the crowds less intense than the December/January contest season. Photo: SurfEXPLORE

California has its best wave season in autumn, with south swells lighting up the classic point at Malibu and clear skies throwing impressive sunsets at Trestles. Photo: SurfEXPLORE

Diving into the tropics, we arrive in Caribbean Panamá, where powerful western Caribbean windswell creates great waves and conditions for surfers like Sam Bleakley on the reefs of the Bocas del Toro area. Photo: SurfEXPLORE

With fewer than twenty active surfers in the entire country, empty lineups are guaranteed in Haiti where Erwan Simon (FRA) samples a new lineup on the north coast. Photo: SurfEXPLORE

Across the Atlantic to Central Africa, where Emiliano Cataldi tries the local street food and tears the top off a wave at the sand points of Mayumba near the border with Congo-Brazzaville. Photo: SurfEXPLORE

Next stop is the tropical island of São Tomé, where south Atlantic groundswell wraps around the corner of equatorial Rolas Island into long lefts. Photo: SurfEXPLORE

With the terrible Ebola epidemic slowly coming under control, surfers may return soon to the left points of the Robertsport area, some of Africa's best waves and friendliest local surfers. Photo: SurfEXPLORE

surfEXPLORE's Sam Bleakley in the Turtle Islands of Sierra Leone, a remote and traditional archipelago of sandbar islands that see few visitors and no surfers. Photo: SurfEXPLORE

Into the Sahara Desert of north Africa and the long, empty right point breaks of Mauritania, where getting a visa to enter the country is a major challenge for visitors. Photo: SurfEXPLORE

On the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, Tunisia has a large community of local surfers and gets consistently good waves on the north and east coasts. Photo: SurfEXPLORE

Also on the shores of The Med, mainland Italy is a fickle surf destination with outstanding waves when swell and wind are aligned, with tides being irrelevant as the Mediterranean has minimal tide swings. Photo: SurfEXPLORE

Onward to the other side of the Arabian Peninsula to the shores of the Indian Ocean in Oman, where empty right sandbar points break under long period groundswell and a minimal number of surfers. Photo: SurfEXPLORE

Down the east coast of Africa to northern Mozambique with Uruguay's Marco Giorgi, where the winter dry season sees plenty of swell activity and favorable winds. Photo: SurfEXPLORE

Across to the mysterious Comoros Islands, source of magical ylang-ylang oil for the perfume industry. Despite numerous islands, reefs and consistent swell, Comoros is visited by very few surfers like surfEXPLORE's Erwan Simon. Photo: SurfEXPLORE

The island nation of Madagascar is a large as California and still holds many secret waves in the northern and southern parts of the country. Erwan Simon samples a shallow reef break in the northeast. Photo: SurfEXPLORE

Across the Indian Ocean to the island of Diu in India, where surfEXPLORE's Sam Bleakley gets in a dig at a limestone reef break in the former Portuguese colony. Photo: SurfEXPLORE

Moving south to the islands of Maldives, perhaps the country in the most danger from climate change and rising sea levels, where pristine empty waves break on reefs outside of overcrowded North Male atoll. Photo: SurfEXPLORE

Back up the east coast of India to Andra Pradesh, where surfEXPLORE's Randy Rarick draws a crowd waxing his board in this unsurfed area. Photo: SurfEXPLORE

Across the Indian Ocean to perhaps the best tropical surfing area on earth in the Mentawai Islands of Indonesia, where Brazilian Beto Castro pulls into a deep tube at The Hole. Photo: SurfEXPLORE

Nearly back to our starting point in West Java, where a rare sandbar spot shows perfect lefts and a morning offshore wind at the end of the rainy season. Photo: SurfEXPLORE