Please vote for order of priority for booking and your choice of dates.

The Jewish Holidays start on Sept 29th that year, and that is an issue for a few of us.

These are only 2 week guidelines. If the 9/15 to 9/30 is the most popular date and then 9/1 to 9/15 is second then we probably combine those dates to come somewhere in the middle to make as many people as possible happy.

Good thing to post if ANY dates are a NO GO for someone such as these holidays. Should be easy to adjust the primary choice dates to accommodate a few issues like this.

Amazing... I haven't even planned lunch for tomorrow & here we are planning a trip over 2 years away!
A second trip of a lifetime!

Doug

LOVE IT! I'm listening to a CD of wonderful African tunes that I purchased in Cape Point store on ROAR. Gives me chills - Such wonderful memories... really gets you in the mood... - :) Michele

Just a "for what it's worth", I was looking at temperatures for Cape Town. In August, it is normally several degrees colder than it was when we were there in April. It's not as temperate there as it is farther North.

With this many votes we are now almost at the 24 that showed interest.

Unless it changes first person to put up the deposit gets first option.

As for going in August for a cheaper rate, 9 people say YES but the other 11 votes have other dates. (I worded that wrong on the poll - you need to add up all other dates to reach how many would prefer a specific date to the savings in August.) So a "slight" edge to the dates are more important than a little difference in the rates.

If you consider both first preference and second preference September is the favorite month. There is more likelihood of the camps giving us consideration for the lower rates in September than in October as well. I did send emails out to day requesting the lower rates for the month of September. If we can get those lower rates in September it will be a decision for September hands down.

So I think that the decision is reached that it is September. I suggest fine tuning dates that blend those two choices. Lets see what the game parks come back with. They may have a restriction we must be within certain dates for a lower rate.

I have always felt April and September are truly the best months. It can get quite hot in the parks in the afternoon in October.

We move fast but it may take the game parks a LOT longer to respond.

Stayed tuned I will be back when I know more.

Well, I didn't vote, because we can't do this trip yet, since we can't travel in the fall.

But, if I could have voted on the first question, I would have said vehemently that former ROARers should not get preference. Any idea like that just felt wrong to me. Thanks for bringing this up, Anne, in the other thread, by the way.

Wendy, I'm pretty sure the former ROARers voted against getting any preference.

Wendy, I voted not to have any preference to ROARers; it just seemed right. Now, I am having second thoughts. Priority only means something if there is a scarce resource. Having priority on selecting which suite or which camp is not that important. What is the worst that can happen if I can’t get into Leopard Hills and “have” to go back to Singita. :D However, priority is really important when it comes to group size. We sort of have a limit of around 34 total. That limitation is at Madikwe, not at Leopard Hills/Singita. When we left ROAR, many of us talked of the ROAR reunion in 2008. Now, what happens if one of the ROARers happens to be out of town, in the hospital, or just has a broken computer and all 34 slots disappear? Who should be on the waitlist? After all, for ROAR, there were people that were on the waitlist that never made the trip.

As for camp preference, since we are going to be split up at Hermanus, Sabi Sands, and Madikwe, there is going to be no time that the whole group will be lodging together. It would be sort of nice to be discussing which camp, which land rover, and which pre-safari among ourselves before having to enter a feeding frenzy just formed out of fear that a trip two and half years away will be booked complete in a matter of hours. I now think it would have been nice to start with a ROAR reunion first (I am sure many ROARers will not be going again) and then expand. The only way I know to be totally fair would be to have a lottery. Lacking that, there is going to be some priority scheme. Currently, the scheme is who is on their computer today with access to a fax machine. I think initial priority to ROARers with significant advance notice to all might work better.

Marc, everything you're saying makes good sense. Can you see the guilt written all over me right now? I just HOPE it doesn't come down to that or we may need to rethink things. I also agree with wanting "togetherness". Something tells me I don't want to be in remedial ROAR 101.

Marcie, please don't feel any guilt; none of us should feel guilt. It is not a big deal. It is two and half years away. I am just amazed that we went from emailing "thoughts" to "bookings" in a matter of days.

I second Marc's comments. I would rather be with reunion people or certain friends than have a particular property. If I got my choice of Singita, but all the ROAR folks ended up at Leopard Hills, I'd be sad not to have a chance to spend time with them. I'm sure all the properties are special. It's the people that make it more special. That being said, Marcie and Sheri weren't on ROAR and I'd love to see them again!!

And that being said, we never knew Brad and Leslie, Marilyn and Suzie, Andrea and Jerrel, Pam and Marc, Olivia, Ann and Gary. We only knew Marc and Arlene..so, we made lots of new friends. We are kind of in a feeding frenzy tho. I wrote to Ngaire and told her my wishes, but my fax isn't working to get the forms back to her and I am running a 104 temp and am very sick and can't go out, so I feel angst.... :(

Everyone stop worrying!

I think there will be plenty of space for every body. Not all Roarers are going back and I am sure it will all work out fine.

We will have cancellations out the gazoo also - this is over 2 years away.

I just felt I could not take the emails I was receiving without giving everyone a shot. Nothing is in stone either. You can change camps if you want to be some particular person.
Andy is correct though at the end of an LCT trip there are always people you really connect with that you did not know before.

It may be weeks before I actually get it all squared away and actually make deposits. I will contact everyone before I do any actual depositing.

Exactly! Ngaire has it all under control

I would place my bet that every LCT person that wants to be on this trip will be on it. Don't forget, Ngaire offered ROAR I first to lct'ers, before releasing to her other clients after a certain time period. So last time, all lct'ers must have been taken care, as there were non-lct people with us.

There were SO many cancellations last time. And Africa is not going away. If demand is high, Ngaire can just carve out another group, I think she already thought of this!

Thanks, Ngaire. We are out of town Thurs - Sun and I was afraid I would miss the opportunity to sign up. I certainly understand former ROARer's wanting to continue their friendships by reuniting. All of the properties are so confusing to me that I've been sitting back, reading posts and trying to become educated. If this works out for Alan and me, it will be a priviledge to travel with all of you.

Andi - hope you are feeling better soon.

Yep. We're starting out today. Whatever we wind up with will be fine. It's great to see new people as well as connect with fellow travel alumni. As the old saying goes .. it will all work out for the best. Here kitty, kitty, kitty .....

Cheers, Anne

Donna, part of what I enjoy about lct is meeting new people all the time. Each cruise seems to be a mix of reuniting with old friends, and meeting new ones. This time, I met many new people,(Andrea & Jerel, Pam and Mark, Marc and Arlene, Leslie/Brad, Andi/Doug, Suzie/Ms.Merlot, and others) and reconnected with others I have cruised with before (Peggy/Jerry, Suzanne, Ray/Penny and others) It would be a pleasure to meet you and Alan for longer than a lunceon! So I hope you will be with us!

Hope you feel better soon, Andi.

Well said, everyone. It's so nice to have these opportunities to get together with old & new friends and share such great adventures. - Michele

Thank you for your kind wishes..I hope I feel better too (4 days of this stomach flu, nausea and headache is enough and now Doug is sick..Maggie is taking care of us..this month is her 2 year "I will not die" anniversary")

I realize that I know Donna and Alan, but Doug has never met them..what fun it would be to be with them and they aren't even ROARers..as they say.."it is what it is"

I just have to jump in here and contradict my darling husband :p ..... I personally think that everyone who wants to book should be able to book, no preference to anyone other than as the deposits come in (Sort of the way the cruise lines do it.... that seems to work :D ) I know many of us "ROAR I"ers want to do a "reunion" and I do too. ROAR was so special of course we all want to do it again ... but that is why everyone else wants to go next time too.... because we all talked about how special it was! I LOVED traveling with everyone on ROAR I. The people we traveled with were one of the best things about the trip. BUT.... I love meeting other LCTer's I "know" only from the boards (Susie & Marilyn, Leslie & Brad, Betty & Al, Michelle & Don and on and on and on) and I also love traveling with LCTers who were not on ROAR I (Marcie & Tom, Sheri Fred & Pat, etc.) I will be happy to ROAR II with anyone, because we have such a wonderful group of people on this board. No trip would be anything but great if it is an LCT group (IMHO) So.... I trust Ngaire will handle it all as fairly and equitably as she always does. It makes no difference to me which camp... which people so long and Ngaire plans it and works out the details (and makes sure Marc and I are booked at the same camp and get to share a room... some things ARE non-negotiable ;) If he is still speaking to me after this!! )

Besides..... I don't know if I could go with that same group again..... I have NEVER drunk so much wine in muy life :nw: :nw: )

Marc - that's coming from not only your lovely bride but also THE BIRTHDAY GIRL.

Arlene - you go, girl!! Hope we wind up on at least part of the sojourn together. Gotta take our pictures, y'know.

Cheers, Anne

Marc's in DC, right Arlene? :D

Andi, I hope you get to feeling better soon. :hug:

Funny Andrea!!! But... yeah.... you're right! :D :D :D

two lions...Arlene..Roar 2?

Yes Andi... 2 for II

Actually, Susie sent me an email with them on it and I "stole" it from her! (told her it was my B'day present from her <img border="0" alt="[naughty]" title="" src="graemlins/naughty.gif" /> )

It is cute... don't 'cha think?