|
|
|||||
|
Home Films/Documentaries
|
African Overland Safari Secrets
Who is the African Safari Lady? My name is Venise Grossmann, and I am the ideal person to post a Web site about traveling in Africa because I am not the type person most would expect to take an overland safari. I am not a young, college student who wears Gap corduroys and Birkenstocks. Rather I am the head of my English Department who wears Ann Taylor clothes and okay, you beat it out of me, make-up to the gym. While some people I encounter initially say that a trip to Africa is unwise and unappealing, after hearing me explain the reality, they have changed their minds. Not only do I have myriad stories, but I also have photos and a promotional video and another planned for this summer that I have co-produced for Drifters Adventours, an African overland tour company. In fact, several months ago, when I was interviewed on All Africa Radio, the host, OgoSow, suggested that as a natural African Ambassador, I should write a book.
My most outstanding credential for creating a Web site about overland safaris is my travel experience. First and foremost, I have taken nine overland safaris with three different overland companies over six years. I have also traveled extensively over the course of the past twenty years. I have visited fourteen African countries throughout North, Central, Eastern and Southern Africa. Although I have visited Europe ten times, I have also backpacked through the continent twice through a total of thirteen countries. I have also camped in Australia over five weeks, taken a tour of Central America using local transport, and taken two solo road trips across the United States. In addition to taking solo group tours in South America and Eastern Europe, I have also served as a delegation leader for People to People in Holland and Japan.
I have worked as a freelance writer and an education columnist for The Courier Post, a South Jersey newspaper for two and a half years. My articles have been published in the Gloucester County Times, The Courier Post, and The Philadelphia Inquirer. Two of my articles were also published in Teacher Magazine, a national publication, and the African Sun Times, the only weekly African newspaper in the United States. All of my published articles can be viewed online at www.venisegrossmann.com. The published articles I have written about Africa include the following:
In addition, I wrote the voice over and took photographs for a promotional video for an African Tour Company that can be viewed on their Web site: www.drifters.com. I also conducted an interview about my overland experiences on October 26, 2007 on All Africa Radio that can be accessed online at www.allafricaradio.com. I have also designed and maintain a Web site for a prominent African environmentalist and author, Gareth Patterson. I recently filmed him and Karin Saks, another environmentalist, in South Africa and the videos appear online at www.garethpatterson.com. I am always reminded of Africa when I am home: http://www.venisegrossmann.com/Venise/Photography/condophotos.htm
|
||||
I am a trained teacher. I began my secondary teaching career in
1986. Since then I have earned a Masters plus 38 additional credits
and have also taught at the community college and university level.
Winter and Spring Breaks in addition to the long summer holiday have
afforded me the luxury of following my wanderlust.