About Frank Janssens

Licht gezien in Herentals – België op 23 juli 1968. Arendsoog gelezen. Pinguïn zonder voortotem tijdens padvindersjeugd. The Beatles fan sinds de moord op John Lennon. Apocalypse Now. Zelfverklaard wereldreiziger rond kampvuur in de buurt van Durbuy tijdens zomer 1983, my summer of ’69. Op tonen van Pink Floyd en Lou Reed bloem verloren en de wijde wereld gevonden. Met een tank op een boom gereden. Bukowski gelezen. Afwasser, kelner en maître. In Griekenland, op zee en in België. Kuifje in Afrika. Hoge toppen gescheerd op Mont Blanc en Kilimanjaro. Onkruid gewied in de Negev. Kaviaar gesnoept op de Trans Siberische. Nabokov gelezen. Tom Waits beluisterd. Brieven geschreven in Cambodja. Klondike per kano. In Patagonië door Bruce Chatwin. Dronken in Havana. Los van Europa.

Hooked on Africa. Tourleader sinds 2002. Woord en beeld leverancier. Prefereer Selous boven Ngorongoro en Lamu boven Zanzibar. Haal veel weetjes uit John Reader’s Biography maar evengoed uit Tusker sessies aan de bar. Inspiratie bij Ryszard Kapuscinsky en Pierrot Men. Spiritueel tijdens Timkat. Lust geen ugali. Shiro tegabino des te meer. Nog steeds aangetrokken door de bergen. Heel graag Ol Doinyo Lengai en Simien Mountains. Dansen op Festival sur le Niger. Verdienstelijk poolbiljarter indien niet te veel Konyagi-tonic. Voortdurend op zoek naar Pel’s visuil en schoenbekvogel. Verafschuw LRA. Toppunt van adrenalinekick is raften op Zambezi. Toppunt van rust is kanoën op Okavango. Tijdens de lange regens in Afrika naar het Midden Oosten om rotsen te beklimmen in Wadi Rum of dutje te doen in Damascus’ Omayaden Moskee. Heimwee koester ik met Brel en Brusselmans.

Frank was born on July 23, 1968 in the Campine in Belgium. His first adventures, he encountered as a boy scout. In that capacity, while enjoying a campfire with his fellow scouts, he decided he wanted to become a professional world traveller. The Beatles, Pink Floyd and Lou Reed were responsible for the soundtrack of his youth. His military career came to an end after he crashed an armed infantry-fighting vehicle into a tree. Charles Bukowski inspired him to write. To finance his first travels he washed dishes, waited tables and supervised restaurants, in Greece, at sea and in Belgium. The reason for his first Africa visit was to climb its highest volcanoes. In the south of Israel, he painted the desert green and on the Trans Siberian he read Nabokov while enjoying caviar. Tom Waits took over the tunes. Frank wrote letters in Cambodia, descended the Yukon River by canoe, explored Patagonia because of Bruce Chatwin and got drunk in Havana. He left Europe…

… and moved to Africa. Since 2002, Frank has been traveling the continent as a tour guide, travel writer and photographer. He finds inspiration in the work of John Reader, Ryszard Kapuscinsky and Pierrot Men. Ugali never became his favourite staple, whereas shiro tegabino did. His love for the mountains never faded. Often one can find him hiking Ol Doinyo Lengai or the Simien Mountains. He shakes his booty at the Festival sur le Niger and can be a deserving pool player if he keeps low on Konyagi-tonic. As a keen birder, Frank is always on the look for Pel’s fishing owl and the shoe-billed stork. He gets his kicks while rafting the Zambezi and enjoys total relaxation while canoeing the Okavango. During the long rains, he shifts to the Middle East for some rock-climbing in Wadi Rum or taking a nap in Damascus’ Umayyad Mosque. Frank loathes the LRA. He maintains a healthy form of homesick blues by listening to Brel and reading Brusselmans.