On the Move Feat. Gabi Steindl
Cover photo @StephanKleinlein
Kite surfer and Toyota LandCruiser 100 owner Gabi Steindl loves exploring the remote parts of Western Australia’s stunning coastline. Once there, she sets up camp and stays for days, weeks, or even months as she grabs her board and heads off to play in the wind and waves. Gabi must be self-sufficient and super-alert to the challenges posed by this beautiful yet unforgiving environment. Front Runner Dometic spoke to Gabi to find out how and why she does it.
You’ve visited over 80 countries but decided to call Western Australia home. Why?
I left Austria in my late teens with a dream of one day living close to the ocean. Whenever I felt too comfortable somewhere, I would move on. In 2007, a kite surfing explorer mission brought me to Western Australia. I first spent a month camping up north at a remote surfing spot. It was a wild place where the desert meets the sea, with the nearest town nearly 200km away. I’d found paradise at the Ningaloo Reef: the incredibly clean and alive Indian Ocean, the waves, the desert, the wildlife, the raw beauty, the vastness, the night sky with more stars than I’d ever seen, and falling asleep to the sound of the ocean.
After five weeks up there, I headed south with Margaret River as my last stop. I enjoyed the camping, the lifestyle, setting, people, and waves there, so I returned the following summer and set up my base here. Eventually, I fell in love with a crazy Aussie big-wave windsurfer, and we got married in Bali on the beach in 2010, and the rest is history. This is now my home, and Western Australia is the best place in the world.
Tell us why you like places where often you’re the only person.
I’ve always loved kitesurfing in remote places where nobody has kitesurfed before. It’s challenging and often risky, but it's also such a thrill and unforgettable experience. These sessions and trips are much more than just about kitesurfing. They’re about overcoming obstacles, being self-reliant, adapting, and living in total tune with and respecting nature.
Besides exploring remote Western Oz by car, I love travelling to isolated places abroad, where often people haven’t even seen a white person before. These trips are super exciting, even without kitesurfing. Pumping up a kite and giving these people a show that they will never forget, or taking some smaller kids on my back for a ride is just the most beautiful thing. Bringing joy to others is better than any World Cup victory.
Why do you say there’s a fine line between bravery and stupidity?
My statement refers to solo kiting in super remote places. I meant there’s a fine line between over-confident frontier exploration and becoming an unwitting maritime statistic. In other words, there’s a fine line between being hardcore and a stupid idiot. A wrong call or equipment failure could have serious consequences when I'm alone in the big blue. On top of things, here in WA, you usually don’t have any phone coverage in remote places, which adds another level of risk.
Kitesurfing is the worst wind sport when things go wrong because kite lines turn into knives under load. Imagine going down on a big wave, the kite dropping in the water, and you washing into those lines. You end up with lines wrapped around your body. I nearly lost four fingers at a remote beach in Chile like that and once had a line wrapped around my neck after getting smashed on the first wave of a big set. I managed to get that line off my neck just before things turned nasty. I still ended up with a lacerated muscle in my forearm.
Why do you explore in a Toyota LandCruiser 100?
The LandCruiser 100 series GXL Turbo Diesel has been my dream car since I traveled in one through the Sahara Desert on a kiting mission back in 2003. They are not the cheapest, and I only recently acquired mine. It’s an absolute gem of a truck. Its 4x4 ability is second to none, and it’s incredibly comfortable too.
The 1HD-FTE inter-cooled 4.2L turbo diesel is one of the most renowned and reliable LandCruiser engines ever. Many LandCruiser 100 series are still around, many with colossal mileage but still running beautifully. If things go wrong, getting a Toyota fixed and finding spare parts in remote Australia is easy. My husband has the same car as me and loves saying, “It’s better to have two 100 series than one 200 series.”
Has kitesurfing taught you a lesson you can apply to other aspects of your life?
In kitesurfing, it’s so easy to overestimate your skills and underestimate the power of the wind. No matter how long you’ve been kiting—even after decades like me—it’s essential to stay humble, respect the wind, and never take your safety for granted. Also, “listening to your gut” and intuition are things I strongly believe in. For example, some days, my gut tells me the water feels sharky, so those days, I don’t go out.
It’s the same with solo exploring and camping. Of course, a certain level of risk-taking and pushing boundaries are part of any adventure. Still, it’s crucial never to underestimate nature or overestimate your abilities.
How do you logistically plan for these long trips?
It depends on the trip. Water and fuel are essential on any road trip in Australia, so having enough of them is the top priority. I always have extra diesel jerry cans and water containers in the back of my car.
I’m good at knowing exactly what sort of food to take in terms of freshness; I know what vegetables will last longer than others, and my staple diet on a roadie includes lots of nuts and dried fruits and wraps filled with whatever freshies I can squeeze into my Dometic fridge. I’m happy with simple meals and am not into processed foods. If I catch a fish, I’m more than happy to eat fish with nothing on the side.
I have a permanent solar panel on my Front Runner Dometic Slimsport Roof Rack and a Dometic CFX3 55IM car fridge. For longer trips at one location, like the annual 3 to 4-month stint in the Outback over winter, we’ve got an additional Dometic fridge, which we run on another Dometic Solar Panel and the Dometic PLB 40 Lithium battery. Plus, we always bring at least two Dometic PLB40 Lithium batteries on top, which are fantastic for power emergencies and recharge my electric gadgets. I never leave home without a couple of PLB 40s.
Where are your favorite WA remote camping/ kiting spots?
East of Esperance on the south coast of WA is a National Park where you can camp on the beach. You must cross a river first to get there. The Southern Ocean is dazzling, a kaleidoscopic spectacle of the most vivid shades of turquoise with the whitest, finest, squeakiest sand. The area is super sharky, but even if you don’t go into the water, you can fish from the shore, go for endless beach drives and walks, and feel pure freedom in this magic solitude. There’s no phone coverage. I camped there twice for a few days without meeting another soul, which is just super special.
Last but certainly not least is the Karijini National Park. Karijini is simply breathtaking—rugged, stunning, and undeniably one of the highlights of Western Australia. It’s like stepping back in time, where billions of years of erosion have shaped this magical red landscape. With ancient rock gorges, incredible swimming holes, and spectacular waterfalls, it’s a dramatic destination bursting with energy that words can hardly capture. Camping there is an experience you’ll never forget.
What have you done to your Cruiser to help carry your gear?
As mentioned, I’ve got the Front Runner Dometic Slimsport Roof Rack, with the Pro Canoe / Kayak / SUP Roof Rack Carrier, which is fantastic. On the biggest trip of the year, I’ve got 10 boards up there. Plus, my Front Runner Dometic LED light bar that I’ve got mounted on my roof rack. I’m night blind, plus, here in WA, there are so many kangaroos. I wouldn’t want to drive at night without that light bar.
My car's Front Runner Dometic drawer system holds spare parts, kiting and surfing accessories, and much more. I love these easy-access drawers. I also have an epic heavy-duty Front Runner Dometic Typhoon bag that can be easily secured to my roof rack with the super reliable stratchits. So, even if it’s pouring, I can still explore without worrying about anything getting wet.
Indigenous Australians live off the land, can you?
My husband is a fantastic fisherman who has taught me a lot. When I'm camping alone, I catch fish from the beach. When we go away in the winter for our long winter camp, we bring a 4.2-meter tinny boat and eat a lot of fish. We eat every part of the fish; nothing goes to waste.
Our speciality and favourite meal is the Red Emperor head stuffed with veggies and slow-baked on the campfire in alu foil. You wouldn’t believe how much meat is on a good-sized head. The eyes are the very best part! But I also love the jaw, the tongue, and the lips. I wish I had the fantastic living off-the-land skills of Indigenous Australians.
Describe kiting to a non-kiter.
It’s an incredible feeling of pure freedom. Plus, it’s an active meditation that puts you in a flow state. It’s fantastic to fly around out then look back at the most spectacular and empty coastline with no other soul around. It’s just you, becoming one with the elements, fully focused on your riding, the waves, and your equipment — being in the moment. It’s hard to put into words.
Any scary or hairy moments when on your own in the Cruiser?
The hairiest moments have been with my husband in his 100 series, but he’s so good at getting us out of trouble again. His 100 series has a winch, and it’s saved us many times. The first time I went South Coast camping alone, there was a narrow section of the beach with super soft sand. My car started to sink and was stuck; the tide was coming in fast, and I was running out of time. I dropped the tire pressure to 12psi and luckily got out before my beloved car fell victim to the Southern Ocean.
One of your social media videos recently went viral. Tell us about this wildlife encounter.
It was during a wave kiting session on our annual Outback stint in the Northwest. I was on my way back out, kiting upwind to catch the next wave, and suddenly, this massive black shadow was right below me. After the initial fright, I realized it was a Humpback Whale mama and her calf. I had kited right over them, with mama and baby swimming a few metres below me. A friend had the drone up and filmed this once-in-a-lifetime moment. I felt like the luckiest girl in the world, and my beloved Indian Ocean had sent me a magical gift that I’ll be forever grateful for.
