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And there it is.

I don't want to sound mean, but I hear this all the time.

Everyone wants it all. When I went to Zim, even on the small little hunt I went on, a lot of my friends just couldn't understand how I could afford to do that.

Truth is, even though I really do enjoy the job I have, there are other jobs I'd probably like more that don't pay as well. I also spent nearly 8 years in the Universities to get that job. I don't have 4 children, don't have a huge ranch or an oversized house and mortgage to match. My truck is 8 years old, I don't own a boat (unless you call a canoe a boat), don't own a snowmachine, motorcycles, 4-wheelers, airplanes, etc... I don't drink $100 bottles of single malt scotch.

My wife and I take a vacation to someplace nice, but if it's real nice, it does preclude me from going into the Brooks Range or to Zimbabwe or Zambia or Tajikistan. I saved for years to get Zimbabwe. I can't go at the drop of a hat. I have to plan and budget for it.

It's true, the Tanzania increase, and Zambia to follow, will probably put some dangerous game hunts out of reach for people that were just barely going to make it. But, with some solid planning and budgets, it can still be done. No, not many are going to take 21 day or month long full bag safaris. The dream of the big five will probably remain a dream, except to the wealthiest. Not many will be able to afford a lion hunt.

But a 7 day buff hunt can still be done with some real planning and sacraficing, if it is a priority. But then, you aren't going to be able to have everything. Something will have to give for a lot of us, probably. It will for me, I suppose. I'm willing to not go on the brown bear on the Alaska Peninsula or the moose hunt at Cape Suckling and put off buying a new truck for another year or two to save up for that hunt, though. I'll brown bag my lunch. I'll go bear hunting and moose hunting somewhere that doesn't cost an arm and a leg closer to home.

Africa is on the other side of the planet for the U.S. sportsman. Nobody said it should be cheap or even fair. Growing up, I never imagined I would be able to afford an African safari. Sure, I dreamed about it, but I never knew anyone that had ever been. I never seriously thought I would ever get there. Think about it. I bet there are more citizens of our countries today that have been hunting in Africa than ever before.

I'm not saying that I agree with the fee increases, but we'll see if the market will bear it. If it does, I guess us middle class guys are not going to be able to afford it. Let's face it, Botswana has been filling hunts for a long time and asking a premium for them. If not, maybe Tanzania will see the light and drop their prices a bit. Or not...