If you haven’t done so, it’s high time !!  It’s a sick shot taken by Russell Ord, one of THE GREATEST surf-photographers of all times!

Simply click here to go back to the download page, scroll down, select the right screen resolution for YOUR device and download, eazy   There’s even one for your Iphone or Blackberry!

I simply adore this photo…  If you want to read a bit about the background to the photo and especially what WAVES mean to me, check out my Wave-Philosophy! …the Ocean, such a great teacher and fountain of energy… go play in it !

Carpe Diem guys & have fun,
…always luv 2 get ur feedback
Gabi

Downloading is super easy, just scroll down, select the right screen-resolution 4 ur gadget and off you go
There’s even a wallpaper for blackberry and your Iphone !

The shot for this months wallpaper was taken by Russell Ord, one of THE sickest surf-photographers on the planet on a day when decent swell had hit the West coast of Australia – JOY     Russell was out on his jetski, manouvering around the big watermountains…  me loving it !

Waves mean  e v e r y t h i n g  to me as the loyal followers of Kitegabi surely know 

There’s no words really for the energy that gets produced by storms many thousands of miles out the open ocean, which then travels towards the coasts and discharges in the form of waves along beaches and reefs all around the world… You have to experience it, to know what I’m talking about !

The sea and waves, though, mean way more to me:  they are my life-force and philosophy:

I interpret the ocean as symbol of life: its peaks and troughs, its sets and lulls, the tide’s ebb and flow just like our daily being.  “Nothing in life can be forced, you have to wait for your wave patiently, there is a time for everything to happen, get in touch with the pulse of the planet instinctively, be fully present in the moment and enjoy the ride when your wave comes…

To ride a wave is an instantaneous meditation and requires 100% focus, a sense of serenity and commitment without any worries about the future or the past! You have to be  t h e r e  in the  v e r y  moment with open eyes and mind in order to not let opportunities just pass you by.
What’s required is: initiative, braveness, willingness to take risks in order to pick and ride the right wave in the set… approaching it with full commitment and even if you get it on the head and get badly washed, there’s no giving up out there, energy is required and the more you get in touch with the ocean and won’t try to force your way, the less you’ll need and soon you’ll be back in the line-up waiting for the next window of opportunity, i.e. set !

Some days you don’t really catch any good wave, only the ones who still paddle out regardless will be lucky and riding the peak of life again very soon !”

People who love the Ocean know that and with this mind-set the ups & downs of life can turn from a bumpy road into an exciting funpark !

In this spirit:  Enjoy the ride, would all people be surfing, the world would be a happier place !

Have fun with the wallpaper & carpe diem guys,
Yours Gabi Steindl

My trip to PNG was split into 3 stages: The first week I stayed on the Trobriand Islands -  which are also called ‘Islands of Love’ -  the second week in the capital Port Moresby and the third week in a small fisher-village four hours south of the capital along the coast: Hula.  In Hula Village I felt honoured having been hosted by the family of the president of the PNG Olympic Committee & Sporting Federation.

That day when this shot was taken, I went kitesurfing way out into the open ocean as I could spot a reef there, where it seemed to me that sweet waves were breaking… and so they were !

I played for hours in the crystal clear waters out there. People in the village must have noticed the ‘strange huge bird’ in the sky and pretty much all the fisherman came out on their small wooden boats to watch and to check out the ‘flying blond girl’. They screamed and cheered and were completely fascinated by what they could see…. later they told me that I would enter the history books of the country .

A could write a book about all the sick kitesurf locations that I found in the three weeks that I spent in PNG;   about my experiences, acquaintances, adventures and once-in-a-lifetime-moments a whole volume of books. I have already explored a vast amount of places on my own, PNG is unmatched and truly special in so many ways. For the individualists amongst you who like to tack against the kite-mass-stream this is the place to go to for your next holiday, the last frontier and a truly hidden kite-paradise between Stone Age and Modern Age.

My trip will remain in my heart forever. A ‘once-in-a-lifetime’-trip which felt a bit like a visit to another planet and which clearly prove the incredibly strong unifying force of our great sport !

KITEWORLD will be publishing my article on PNG in one of the upcoming summer issues, so stay tuned and get yourself a copy! The article also already has been published on 11 pages in the German magazine Kiteboarding.de and is currently in the French Kiteboarder Mag. I will be uploading the articles soon into my Publications Portfolio. Austrian TV broadcasted several interviews and little films about it as well, check my video section for those!

Downloading the FREE WALLPAPER is easy: simply click on the right screen resolution for your computer and off you go .

Have fun guys & CARPE DIEM !
Gabi

If you haven’t, then it’s high time to do so … the month’s already passed more than half way through folks

For your free download in all screen resolutions and even for the IPhone, just click here!

Carpe Diem guys & have fun!
Catch ya later…
Gabi

And anyway, it’s certainly not paradise for everyone, I have met quite a number of people who have been there before and would never want to go back…  Isn’t that cool, how different tastes can be!

Plus what’s best about our beautiful world is: Paradise can be found anywhere really, as soon as you find the peace within you   -   which isn’t easy, it’s a long, ongoing process, which often takes a whole lifetime but it’s way better if you achieve it at an earlier stage in life .  For that you will need to continuously work on yourself…  and that’s certainly worth it!   For me the easiest to find peace within me is when I’m in touch with the planet, i.e. when I’m in nature. For me Mother Natures energy is healing and true bliss for the soul.

Together with this photo from paradise, I would like to quote John Muir (21 April 1838 – 24 December 1914) a Scottish-born American naturalist, author, and early advocate of preservation of wilderness in the United States taught the people of his time and ours the importance of experiencing and protecting our natural heritage. His letters, essays, and books telling of his adventures in nature, especially in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, have been read by millions. His words have heightened our perception of nature. His personal and determined involvement in the great conservation questions of the day was and remains an inspiration for environmental activists everywhere:

Allow the peace of nature to flow into you.
If you let the winds blow their freshness into you,
and the storms their energy,
your cares will fall away like autumn leaves.

This shot was taken in Glenrochy, a cute little town very near ‘adrenaline-capital’ Queenstown, at the northern end of Lake Wakatipu on New Zealand’s stunning South Island.

Luca Soulus a local kitesurfer took me to that very spot. Glenorchy is one of the windiest places in the world and I will never forget the sick fun ‘rodeo’ I had there on that lake in about 35-40 knots

The local kite-gang is lovely and I immediately made soooo many new friends!

My trip to New Zealand that took me 14.000kms in a campervan pretty much all around the South island as well as the North island certainly was one of THE best in my career, yep, I  truly l u v e d  every second of it.

Check out my already published articles about that once-in-a-lifetime-trip to kiwi-land, split into two parts: Part 1, the South island and Part 2, the North island. The English version also already has been published, though, I still need to upload it into my portfolio    Will soon let you know once it’s done…

But most importantly first of all, scroll down and download your free wallpaper-calendar in the resolution that fits your screen.

Have fun & pls. drop me an email anytime… love to get your feedback and always happy to answer any questions!
Carpe Diem
Gabi  P.S.:  for the previous wallpapers of 2010, check the ‘goddie’-section!

In the morning on waking up on the farm that I stay at here in W.A. I could already feel it, ‘Swell had hit’, I was absolutely positive.   I jumped in my car, the sun had only just risen, beautiful light everywhere through the giant gum trees, and speeded to the Ocean…    Yeah JOY, the surf’ was up, and even bigger than forecasted!

Initially I planned on organizing a jet-ski shoot for that very day, though, last minute, Russell and I re-decided and we went to a heavy beachbreak in the area….. Aaaaaarg, huge, heavy, dumping close out sets came through, pretty scary, and I had a couple of serious wipe-outs. The adrenaline during that session was insane, though, and the more time I spent there in this gnarly break, the more I started to enjoy the challenge

I’ve already used a shot of this very shoot for the month of January of my FREE Wallpaper Calendar 2010, check it out, here you can also find the full story on the shoot!

You will find the download for different screen resolutions right at the bottom of this blog.

Stay tuned for more & please feel free to email me with any questions, feedback or suggestions any time, I love to hear from u.

Hope, u enjoy my March-photo,
Ride safely & have fun!
Yours Gabi

I spent 3 weeks in this absolutely unique and amazing country. With the help of Jason and his lovely family I experienced a ‘once-in-a-lifetime-adventure’ that will stay in my heart & mind forever!

3 weeks, 3 stops:  one super remote island, the capital Port Moresby, and a small fishing village on the coast were my homes…  I’ve just finished writing the story to the amazing shots that Jason Pini took during our trip and it will be published in kitesurfing magazines all around the globe fairly soon.

This particular shot of my FREE Wallpaper Calendar 2010 was taken at a spot not far from Port Moresby just in front of a little village built on stilts, check’em out in the background. There were so many kids that came running when they’ve spotted me on the beach pumping up this ‘big weird wing’…  such great people, I simply  l o v e  PNG!

Thus, stay tuned, I’ll keep u posted on the magazine features.
Have fun & kite safely !
Yours Gabi

As you might have already realized already, as with 2010 I have a new category “Goodies” in my blog division, where – as the name already suggests  -  I will place some little presies for u from time to time

Don’t miss out, get yourself Goodie No.1  -  a sick wabeshot from some heavy shorebreak in Western Australia and stick it on your desktop!

Have fun & kite safely     Yours Gabi

The photo was take by Russell Ord, one of THE greatest surf-photographers on the Planet !

You might be curious about the background to this photo, the ‘behind the scenes-story’ is as follows:

Last winter my North International Team mates Sky Solbach, Dreu Beavis and me, were assigned a mission by our team-manager: to get some sick wave shots in the mind-blowing waves of Western Australia…

I took the long journey from Austria to Western Australia in the beginning of December 2008, by the end of February, several decent swells had already hit the coast of W.A., though, Sky, Dreu and me still didn’t have ‘the shots’ in the camera… It’s not that easy to get it all together on those days, sometimes the sun doesn’t shine, sometimes one of us, was busy doing with other pro-duties or the photographer was busy etc.

I was about to leave for another media-project to New Zealand fairly soon and got a bit nervous about not being able to fulfil our mission.

That morning of the 3rd of March I woke up at the farm that I rented a room at – which is a really cool place: kangaroos in the garden, a funky BBQ outside behind the kitchen, a Bali-chill hut, lovely people, an art gallery… yeah, it’s a unique little retreat not far from the Ocean – and could feel it: new swell had hit. Armed with a coffee-mug, a banana, and some nuts, I jumped into my car and drove straight to Margaret River’s main break, an infamous, hardcore break that’s the best indicator for the prevailing conditions. YEAH, swell had hit… and the sky look clear as well, pretty perfect shooting conditions, joy !!

I phoned Sky and the photographer. Both were also pretty happy to give it another shot that day. They told me they would check the conditions themselves and get back to me as to where we’re gonna hit the water… A little later I received a txt: “We head to Redgate 4 the shoot”.

I was surprised as that very spot is a beachbreak, which would be closing out considering the size for sure… But if that was the plan, I was sure they had some good reason for it, jumped into my car and drove there. YEP, Redgate looked scary as, big, heavy close outs, strong, gusty wind… arrrg…

Sky and Dreu were already rippin’ it up, the photographer stood on the beach with a huge lens…

I set up both: my 6m2 as well as my 7m2 Rebel 2009 and both waveboards: Kontact 5’10 and 6’1 and joined them. SICK! The waves dumped like bombs on the beach and it was super challenging, especially as I usually don’t ride much in beach breaks, I prefer clean, peeling waves Yeah, I got some severe beatings during the course of the 2 hour session, though, also succeeded in carving insane turns into the monster-shorebreak.

The shot of the month of January, is one of my favourite photos of that shoot, I hope you like it too !

A few days after that shoot at Redgate, I packed up my stuff and could contentedly start my new adventure & mission: explore & discover the best spots of New Zealand!