3 planes, lots-of-rather disgusting plane food and a couple of tranquilizing glasses of vino, I have to admit, I’m pretty stoked arriving in Vienna in the afternoon of Friday the 13th.  yep, wasn’t too impressed with myself after I realized that I had booked myself onto this monster-journey on a Friday the 13th, especially after having been on a rather unlucky patch lately anyway…  and having just survived a rather heavy car crash, flying on friday the 13th was perhaps pushing it a bit… only if one is supersticious, though, right

My trip from Perth, Western Australia that took me via Singapore and Frankfurt back home to ‘lovely’, greeeeey Vienna… grrrr, November must be pretty much the worst time of the year to come here, mind you, I didn’t have an option, my Visa in Australia was expiring on Nov.12th and there was no way to extend it from within the country….  what a BUMMER !!! 

So now I’m in drizzly Vienna, staring outside the window, I do have to admit, it all feels rather weired…  

In any case, that’s also part of the job and I do have several important meetings and committments here over the next few weeks.   Luckily I got a last sick session in before departing W.A. that loaded me with energy to go through this grey city-obligation-stress of the weeks to come…   Yeah, sweet swell rolled onto the coats of W.A. and Margaret River went off.  I was lucky and had one of the top local surf photographers -  Jamie Scott, check out his website !! -   on a jet-ski coming out to one of the breaks, will post u pics over the next couple of days ! 

Stay tuned folks & have fun
urs gabi

I dont’ really know where 2 start this story, could write a novel here…. mh, I reckon best, where I left u off with a few weeks ago…

So, the past 6 weeks I spent on hardcore wave-training in the outback of W.A.  I had  THE best waves of my life, some serious swells brought cranking conditions and I had time to test my brandnew 2010 North gear extensively in very challenging conditions. the verdict is simple:  The North Rebel 2010 as well as the 2010 Kontact waveboard are  T H E  best pieces of kitegear that I’ve ever had the pleasure of riding in my 8 year career as kite-pro -  S I C K !!!   Detailed reports on the North 2010 kites + boards will be posted in my blog over the next week, thus: stay tuned !

After 6 weeks in paradise, I had to reload up my beloved car ‘Margaret’ and start the 2-day drive back to Perth, W.A.
Already shortly into my drive Margaret gave me some reason for concern, she suddenly made some serious noise and I pulled over at a garage, verdict:  the exhaust had broken, which we fixed provisorily and I could continue my drive.

Another few hundred kilometres down the track, I had to pull into another garage with a new problem:  Margaret wasn’t going any faster than 60kms/hour…  new verdict was:   the battery was about to die, so I bought a new one…

Another half hour later Margaret suddenly made another concerning sound (!!?), so I just managed to get to the next town along Western Australian’s deserted overland highways and luckily also found a garage there, next verdict:  some leads were touching the exhaust and were about to totally burn through, thus:  had to change leads & plugs… at that 3rd garage I started to take photos as already then I felt like in a bad movie after having to pull over to 4 garages in only a few hours…

Another 40kms down the track Margaret started to behave just like a few hours earlier:  she wouldn’t go any faster than 60kms/hour…  I just made it into the next town and once again:  lucky, cause the town had a garage…
This time it was the catalyst converter which was blocked.  the mechanic fixed it and said ‘now ur car will get u to Perth no worries and u will even be able to drive 100kms and faster i u want…”.

The speed limit on W.A.’s outback highway is 110kms/hour and once the catalyst converter got cleaned, I could indeed crank up the engine to 110kms/hour, sweet!

I had another 350kms to go before reaching Perth and was very optimistic making it without any more garage-stop… how wrong I was !!?

Only about 30 minutes after having left the last garage, driving along W.A.’s highway at a speed of 110km/hour, Margaret all of a sudden starts spinning, I do a full 360 turn and get catapulted off the road…  KAWUM BANG: glass everywhere, my window broke, my door totally crushed… I come to a standstill in the bush beside the highway  -  SHOCK !!?  No phone coverage and me all alone with a crashed car that had ‘my life’ in there (Margaret was chocker block full with kite gear, camping stuff, all my electronics, pretty much everything I owe really !!?) on a highway in the middle-of-nowhere, close to a cursed place in Aboriginal beliefs and a rather dodgy corner anyway…. grrrrrrrrrrr

Police arrived and and and…. dude, can u imagine that I truly felt like in a bad movie !!? 

A tow-truck was organized and my till then really loyal car Margaret got towed into the next town, from where I finally could make a couple of phone calls.

Thank God I have caring people around me and a special mate of mine immediately jumped into his car in Perth and came to rescue me :)  Obviously it took him a couple of hours which gave me time to empty out Margaret and to get all my $h&it together, ready for him to upload into his car  -  by the way,  t h e  coolest rescue car on planet Earth :)  a 1979 Kingswood !

The truck-guy from the tow-company couldn’t believe his eyes when I finally had everything out of the car, he was stunned “whaaaaat, u had all that in the car? no way !”.

So dusk approached and it got dark and cold…. gabi waiting… finally my mate arrived:  we loaded up the Kingswood and by 2am in the morning finally reached Perth.

My car has been declared as a total write-off (“Totalschaden” in german) which is truly sad, though, I can consider myself suuuuper lucky 2 be alive, no scratch, no bruise, it’s like a wonder!!! According to the police men and all the other people that stopped along the scene of accident, accidents like mine along W.A.’s highways normally end up fatal…   yep, I can be grateful that the car didn’t roll over and that no car or road-train came atme when I slid all over the highway !!  Also the story of the driver of the tow-truck that pulled Margaret into the next town gave me reason to actually be stoked rather than upset:  earlier in the year he pulled out the car of a girl from the UK who pretty much had the same happening to her (tire bursting), though, she wasn’t that lucky:   she’s still in hospital in Perth since over 6 months with a broken back…  I truly hope that luck will also be on her side again soon!

I’m in Perth now, recovering from the shock and looking into the future, stoked 2 be here on planet Earth healthy & although a bit shaken, really happy

I would already like to thank u in advance for ur understanding guys and promise I will make up for it.  Keep checking kiteboarding magazines in the meantime, I have some sick features about to be published that you surely will be loving

In this spirit, carpe diem guys & have fun,
Yours Gabi

Today I would like to quote one of my most favorite authors, Eckhart Tolle -  if you haven’t read it, go and get yourself ‘The Power of Now’ !!!   -   which relates to THE JOY OF BEING:

“Pleasure is always derived from something outside you, whereas joy arises from within.”

Photos in the gallery were taken on New Zealand’s South island: Sailboat at the lake Wakatipu in Queenstown and Dolphins in Kaikoura  -  the ‘capital’ of Whales & Dolphins, I loooove this place !!!

I have choosen a photo of a dolphin as the ‘header’ to this post, as dolphins are the perfect example, they are full of pure JOY. These creatures are so smart and if us humans would only live a bit like them, the World would be a much better and happier place for sure !  It might sound funny to you but I can only recommend to get in touch with these amazingly wise mammals (literally ‘in touch’!  I try to surf and swim with them as often as possible), to read and find out more about them and their way of life, trust me, there’s looooads to learn from my friends the dolphins

Have fun!
Gabi

“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see te whole staircase.”

Photos in the gallery are from the breathtaking South island, New Zealand … luvin’ it there, sourrounded by that breathtaking nature, it’s easy to see clearly  – …even if there’s no staircase

When the body sends a signal, nothing should be more important to you than trying to discover the real reason and to work on getting it back into tune again.

One of the basic principles of holistic health is that we cannot seperate our physical body from our emotional, mental, and spiritual state of being. 

For instance, when we have a physical disorder, it is a message for us to look deeply into our emotional and intuitive feelings, our thoughts and attitudes, to discover how we need to take better care of ourselves emotionally, mentally, or spiritually, as well as physically. 

With this approach, we can restore the natural harmony and balance within our being !

The photos in the photo-gallery to your left hand-side are from my recent trip to New Zealand, the ‘Last Paradise’ as it is also known… and that for a reason.  Mother Nature in New Zealand is so incredibly powerful, full of energy and pure as I have not experienced before.  To me Mother Nature is my life-force… inhaling its energy can be stronger than any medicine, try it !!

His words were so simpel, yet so powerful and if all of us would follow his advice: 
 “Be the change that you want to see in the world”,
the world would certainly be a better place!

Photos supporting these powerful words were all taken on New Zealand’s south island: Arthurs Pass, West Coast, and Aoraki Mount Cook (New Zealand’s highest mountain with 3754m) at the mind-blowingly stunning Lake Pukaki (check the watercolour !!!), which seems unreal, what a fascinating, unique site and a symbol for the incredible treasures & power of Mother Nature!

Traveling broadens ones horizon, and in this spirit, my most recent experiences and wonderful new acquaintances along the way of my latest trips have inspired me to start a new series under my blog category ‘Soulwave’ with the title:  ‘My invitation to inspiration’, a series of powerful quotes, daily thoughts, and positive affirmations, which upon reading hopefully will inspire you to live a more empowered life !!   Each post will be supported by some beautiful new photo of my recent travel through New Zealand, the East Coast of Australia as well as other mind-blowing images from previous trips.

As my first inspiring thought, I would like to quote Eckhart Tolle and his view on ‘Living in the NOW’:
“Nothing ever happened in the past,  it happened in the Now. Nothing will ever happen in the future,  it will happen in the Now”.

Pro riders and the kiteboarding manufacturers provide their latest news and those are mashed up as teasers on this site. Four your convenience and clear overview about everything that’s going on in  the kiteboarding world. If you are interested in a particular full story just visit the company’s or Pro Rider’s site with the link provided.

So, your search is over! Here it is, your kiteboarding news source! Definitely, welovetokite.com

Just chill and kite    Check it out folks,
Yours Gabi

The ‘Kurier’ is my home country’s leading newspaper.  Every Saturdays it gets published with a wicked colour supplement covering a diversity of topics from all around the globe:  glam & stars, fashion, music, sports…   well, this Saturday Kitegabi and her greatest passion kitesurfing is featured on 3 pages, sweeeet !!!

The beautiful double-spread shot is of my latest trip through New Zealand, taken at the Lake Wakatipu in Glenorchy near Queenstown renowned for its scenic beauty, being surrounded by mountains, on New Zealand’s mindblowingly stunning South island.  The third page is made out of photos from Western Australia.

Read the whole article online or simply download it, it’s easy, just check it out in ‘My Portfolio’!

Have fun & stay tuned 4 more @ kitegabi.com
Yours Gabi