Under the Big Top

The last couple of days have been like walking the high wire. As you know, I am planning a trip to Africa in December with a group of avid adventurers. The itinerary is robust tackling 3 countries in just under 2 weeks including visits to Zambia, Botswana and South Africa. We will be on safari in the Okavango Delta and game driving in Kruger National Park. Highlights also include white water rafting on the Zambezi River, elephant back safari, & a helicopter tour of Victoria Falls. As you can guess this adventure is not cheap. But relish my surprise when I opened my inbox the other day to find that I needed to pony up an additional $2000. on top of the twice previously revised pricing scheme. YYEOWZA! Between the weak dollar and rising fuel costs this trip is rapidly constricting my blood flow. I don't recall the last time I felt so depressed. I talked it over with my "camp-mates" and we all agreed that we just couldn't stretch our budget. As one last consoling measure I offered to see how flexible this trip was and if we couldn't customize it a bit to rein the price in some. The most accommodating tour director at Uncommon Adventures thinks he can make it work for us so at least for the time being the dream is still alive.