Nhlalala Travel

Racist remarks during our safari — and no direct response to our complaint

Unfortunately, what should have been one of the highlights of our family trip to South Africa became a deeply upsetting experience — not only because we were subjected to what we experienced as explicit racist remarks during a safari, but also because of the way our complaint was handled afterwards.

During a game drive in Kruger, another guest sharing our vehicle complained loudly throughout the safari, repeatedly criticized the guide and tried to control where the guide should drive. When I asked her to stop complaining and allow the guide to do the job, her behavior towards us became aggressive.

She repeatedly told me, “Get out off my country,” and then said, “That’s why I don’t like Asian people.”

As Asian travelers, there was no ambiguity in how those words made us feel. We felt targeted because of our ethnicity. It was humiliating, offensive and deeply uncomfortable, particularly because we were traveling with our child.

The same guest was also vaping throughout the game drive while our child was in the vehicle. I do not know whether vaping is permitted in safari vehicles, but as parents we found this inappropriate and uncomfortable.

I want to be fair: many other parts of our trip were well arranged, and we understand that a tour operator cannot control everything an individual guest may say or do. Our greatest disappointment with Nhlalala Travel is therefore not simply that this incident happened. It is how we experienced the company's response after we reported it.

I personally sent the tour operator a detailed message explaining what had happened, including the racist remarks directed at us and how distressed and uncomfortable the experience had made us feel.

The message was read.

We received no direct reply.

We received no direct acknowledgement, explanation or apology, and no one contacted us directly to ask whether we and our child were okay after what had happened.

Because we were so uncomfortable with the lack of a direct response, I eventually asked a South African friend to contact the company on our behalf. My friend received a brief apology, but the company still did not contact us directly. To this day, we have not received a personal apology or any meaningful explanation regarding how our complaint was handled.

For us, this is the most disappointing part.

I do not expect a tour operator to be able to prevent every conflict between guests. I do, however, believe that when a guest reports what they experienced as explicit racial abuse, a professional tourism company should take the matter seriously. At the very least, I would have expected an acknowledgement, some concern for our wellbeing, an apology for the experience, and an explanation of how the situation would be addressed.

Instead, after telling the company that we had been repeatedly told to “fuck off” from the country and that the other guest explicitly said she did not like Asian people, our detailed message was read without any direct response to us.

That silence made us feel that what happened to us did not matter.

We traveled a long way to experience South Africa and Kruger as a family. We did not expect special treatment. We simply expected to be treated with dignity and, when something this serious happened, to feel that the company responsible for our tour cared enough to respond to us directly.

I am leaving this review because I was invited to share my experience. I believe reviews should reflect not only how a tour operator performs when everything goes according to plan, but also how they respond when something goes seriously wrong.

There were enjoyable parts of our trip, and I appreciate the people who worked hard to make those parts possible. But unfortunately, when we genuinely needed care, communication and support, we felt that we did not receive it.

For that reason, what could have been a wonderful memory of our family safari has instead been overshadowed by both the racist remarks we experienced and the disappointing lack of a direct response that followed.