US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Allan was a complete joy to work with!
I started planning this trip in September of 2022 for 14 people. We customized the trip for the things we wanted to see. Allan and I probably sent close to 200 emails over the year of planning and he always responded within 24 hours. We had someone cancel a month before and he quickly assisted in the agreement refund policy and rearranged rooms. All of the accommodations exceeded our expectations. Our guides George and Obama were extremely professional, personable, very knowledgeable and we would definitely request them again. We spent the first 3 days in Nairobi - Lake Nakuru - Maasai Mara - Amboseli - Tsavo West & East - Diani Beach to end with some R&R. We saw the big 5, went to a Masai Mara village, planned a bush dinner and a hippo breakfast. We drove to all the places except one were we took a flight from Masai Mara to Amboseli. The drives took us through the countryside of Kenya which we loved seeing. The drives could be long for some so maybe think of more smaller flights between parks but we loved seeing Kenya. The only thing I would change was adding a few more days to enjoy some more time at the beautiful lodges. The food and drinks at the lodges was excellent. This was truly a trip of a lifetime. Asante Sana Allan, George and Obama!
PL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent tour!!!
The trip left us with extremely positive impressions. Organization of the tour was at the highest level, despite the fact that everything was organized in an extremely short time (actually 2 days before departure). I am very grateful to Marta for paying her thorough attention to my request, without her insistence in booking accommodation, this trip would not have taken place.
All the hotels were wonderful, the view from every room in the exclusive program was worth every dollar spent, the food was good.
We booked a rather condensed 3 day program which I do not recommend for those who want to browse all the places in peace. To do this, you should choose at least 4 day tours.
Our main goal was to see the African Big Five, so we drove to the Serengeti Park and the Ngorongoro Carter. We really enjoyed visiting both parks, we saw all the big five animals, but it took us a long time to find the rhinoceros, which blends in perfectly with the grass in the crater park. In addition, we saw all the animals from the big five performing various daily tasks, such as hunting, visiting a watering hole, etc.
I would like to express special thanks to our driver-guide named Ezekiel, who showed the highest professionalism in working with clients - answered in great detail any of our questions regarding animals, nature or life in Tanzania; always chose the best route; knew the park very well, which was our key to spotting all of the big five animals and many at arm's length. I never thought that I could see a giraffe at a distance of 2 meters, I could almost stroke the elephant and we even had to run away from him a little :) we did not dare to get too close to the rhinos and hippos :)
I recommend this tour to all people and especially to those who want to completely break all their stereotypes about wildlife from films and zoos.
Many thanks to the company and especially Marta and Ezekiel and hope to see you soon!)
IT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Professional and punctual
Punctual and professional organization. All expectations were met. Excellent guide, made us fall in love with this magical place.
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IT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Perfect, everything super ok
First safari and from the positive reviews we chose SURICATA, in the group tour version for 5 days. The staff is attentive to everything: getting around, the car which is always clean, filled with water and we have never had any problems with the engine/fuel/wheels (a fundamental thing in a complicated management tour like this - furthermore, should something ever happen, they a spare car is available near the serengeti and ngorongoro so in a short time they fix the problem and don't waste the customer's precious time!! We have seen many of them stopped and left to themselves). FREDDI, our guide, was super, very knowledgeable, personable, and attentive to show us each animal, so thank you so much again! He only speaks English (but they also have guides in other languages available so you can try asking). We chose the "intermediate" accommodations and we were assigned: BOMA LODGE (super appreciated upgrade for the first two nights at the tarangire and lake manyara), ANGATA CAMP (both at the serengeti and ngorongoro - tented camps with bathroom and shower in the room). The lodges obviously also have air conditioning, but the tented camps are still comfortable, equipped with towels and shampoo and other things (no hairdryer, electricity available until the generator is switched off, wi-fi in the common areas). The food is truly exceptional, and for vegetarians it is enough to tell the chef of the various places where you are staying and there are always alternatives. Never problems with water: the one in the bottles is always replenished. Tip for NGORONGORO: it's always cold so cover yourself because even in the tents it's cold even in the common one, but the show and the animals will make it all worth it.
The food at lunch is always cooked by the lodges then made in the morning espresso - all super tasty. Even in the tents there are sockets, as well as in the car that takes you around.
You will not regret it.
Ask before leaving where you will sleep in order to avoid misunderstandings (if you want to sleep in the tented camp and not in the lodge or vice versa based on how agreed).
The visit to the Masai camp, on the other hand, cannot be missed, but it is obviously a free choice.
Choose SURICATA, and thanks COLD!!!!!
(automatic translation from Italian)
AE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Tour operator was ok, guide was horrible.
First we would like thank you for always replying quickly and the driver always being on time.
Secondly I would like to tell you what happened on our first day:
- We landed on time and were stuck in traffic on the way to Lake Navaisha so we couldn’t do the tour on that day so it was postponed for the next morning.
- Because it we did the next morning we arrived late at our hotel in Masai Maraa which resulted in not doing any game drive on day 2, which we payed you for (80 dollars x 6)
We believe we have the right to get refunded for this. In the future you should not do a heavy planning like this for your guests as with the traffic and condition of the roads it’s not doable.
We also were extremely unhappy about our driver. The driver really breaks or makes your holiday as we spend so much time together. Ours was not providing us any basic information about our day or Kenya, got irritated by our questions, sensitive as not having a sense of humor, demotivated (example: he told us there was a rhino but it was very far meaning he didn’t want to bring us eventhough he knew how much we wanted to see a rhino).
In Masai Maraa he was doing the same routes for 3 days always bringing us at the same spots.
We were the only safari bus with broken binoculars. All other drivers has binoculars looking for the animals for their guests.
He was wearing the same clothes for 5 days so I can’t even begin to describe the smell we had to endure all these hours.
Our driver clearly shows he does not want to do his job and the we were not welcome.
He also got irritated when we were giving away our extra food to the children we would see because he said they would litter.
Eventhough we were extremely unhappy with him we still gave him a generous tip which he also showed us how unhappy he was with.
We had a fun holiday because we were a fun group not thanks to our driver or accommodation.
I really do not understand all the other 5 star’s reviews and really wished we had a 5 star experience as we paid a lot of money for this holiday.
The lunch box in the accommodation in Masai Maraa was every day the same! Very poor selection for breakfast too. There should be also be mosquitonets as the room is full with mosquitoes and other bugs. We were not so bothered by the accommodation as it’s fairly for the price we paid.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
An excellent company: value, services, vehicle and location!
ANAPA really came through for me - I needed a last-minute booking for Tarangire, Tanzania, and they accommodated my needs every step of the way. Even the ATM was giving me trouble, with my bank in the USA not doing its job. My driver didn't hesitate to drive me to another ATM, and with every guest that we picked up, the same friendly, consistent demeanor was present.
The vehicle was well outfitted in terms of seats, functioning windows, refreshments and cleanliness, and out driver was safe, knowledgeable and did a great job to get us to some secluded spots. We got to spend time with an elephant herd with no one else around - not even one other truck!
Thanks ANAPA - I will not hesitate to recommend you!
US
They were very accommodative about our travel dates changing and the guide was very knowledgeable
The company is very efficient and willing to customize to the client’s needs. They prepared everything ahead of time. Our guide, Ronnie was multilingual, very kind, made the effort for us to see every animal even though some had migrated. He always asked other guides where we could possibly find them and he took us there. We had a great three days
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Want a trip of a lifetime? Look for further!
We spent 14 days with Kay Adventure Tours across Kenya, Tanzania and Zanzibar. Easily one of the best trips of our lives!
Maureen was very professional from the start, giving us a few different options to choose from and being extremely patient with all the questions we had about the trip, visas, flights and everything else - they were many but she never failed to answer. She came to meet us in Nairobi at the beginning of our tour to give us a final briefing and introduce us to our Kenyan guide, Ben. What followed was 8 days spent travelling across Samburu with its quite unique giraffes and zebras you can see only there, Lake Nakuru's rhinos and flamingoes and Masai Mara's spectacular scenery and wildlife, there were animals at every turn and the sunsets beyond description! Ben was always on the lookout for where to go next to see more animals and was never bothered by questions. We then crosses into Tanzania, where Ahmani picked us up. The huge plains of Serengeti hosted up for the next couple of days, with Ahmani masterfully revealing all the secrets of plants and animals alike. We were lucky enough to see a pack of lionesses hunting zebras just in front of us thanks to his excellent prediction of where to park the jeep before everybody else, really wonderful to see and the zebras made it out alive :-). A few hours spent in the absurdly beautiful Ngorongoro crater with its abundant wildlife closed our safari before being dropped off at Arusha airport and whisked over to Zanzibar for four relaxing days on the beach.
Final tally: big five and ugly five seen multiple times and almost all the small five, but those are, well, small and very difficult to find anyway! Good food throughout, especially in Serengeti and Zanzibar. Great people at every corner and the tranquillity of having Maureen ready to support us a message away, should her regular check-ins not have been enough. A great trip, very carefully planned by people that clearly know a thing or two about safaris. We will not hesitate to rely on Kay Adventure Tours again in the future and suggest them to family and friends planning a trip in the area!
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Solo traveler friendly and a hell of an experience!
My first solo trip and I could not recommend the experience and this company enough. I had chosen the 4 day option which I thought was plenty of time. I had multiple people tell me before leaving that a safari was not worth it unless I was able to stay 5 days or more. I strongly disagree. We had plenty of time between the three parks we visited and successfully saw the big 5. Accommodations were excellent. We had the pleasure of staying at their new lodge for the first night and I highly suggest that no matter what package you purchase, you find a way to incorporate one night at this facility. It was the most beautiful establishment I’ve ever stayed at.
Our tour guide was knowledgeable and personable. The food was great and I appreciated having warm meals as opposed to the boxed lunches that I saw other companies provide. I thought the price was extremely fair the experience. I have already sent this company’s information to friends and family who have safaris planned in their future.
AE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Disappointing services … we feel that we have been cheated !!!
We had reached out to the Company Morning Star Safaris Founder and Chairman Mr Nicholas and Operations Head Mr Robert, but they did not at all care about our concerns. I kept sending them reminder emails and even asked for a video call but they did not have the courtesy to do so. After repeated reminders, when they chose not to respond to us, I told them clearly that now I will find ways through my ownself and expose them in public through this feedback. I was keeping it very very professional and expected the Company Founder to take a stance and come in front, however, it’s very disappointing that the danger that his company had put my family in, did not matter to him at all. I told him I will reach out to the highest authority in Kenya even if it’s the government itself and will fight till I get the Company Founder accept his mistakes and compensate me for the trouble he put my family through, especially my two daughters.
Please note that this experience was no where comfortable and most importantly very unsafe, despite of all rosy assurances from Mr Joseph. Even before starting the tour, almost a month prior to our travel, my husband made 40% payment to Morning Star as asked by Mr Joseph. Mr Joseph informed us a day after this 40% payment that Jambo Mara property is not honouring its commitment of the room it had agreed with Morning Star. My husband was forced to make an additional payment of USD 210 for a higher category room which was not required and was way above our budget. But we had no choice as Mr Joseph only sounded helpless.
Everyone makes mistakes and if you accept mistakes and compensate for your wrong decisions and move on, it’s understandable and worth forgiveness but when you stay stubborn and keep making your point without even understanding the customer’s situation, it is alarming!!
I had emailed Morning Star Safaris on July 4th, 2023 marking Urgent Attention to: Mr Nicholas (Founder - CEO of Morning Star Safaris) and Mr Robert (Operations Manager)
We had a very terrible experience with the company Morning Star Safaris. We were being serviced by their representative Mr Joseph and as we had also mentioned to him in the initial days of our vacation reservation with him that we were extremely happy and impressed with the way he dealt with our bookings and also through his communication etiquettes.
However, if anything on my vacation happens that challenges the safety and peace of my family, I just don't buy the fact that Mr Joseph is good at sending itineraries or writing long and reassuring emails and messages, it just DOES NOT MATTER TO ME.
I must say that Morning Star Safaris may have invested in this company to make profits but it failed in grooming its people to be well behaved, courteous and mindful when interacting with its customers.
I do not accept the way the Company’s operations head camouflaged the whole scenario with his assessment of things.
Let me ask you first, if you are in my position and have your spouse and two kids off to a vacation, would you take nonsense from your travel partner or your chauffeur? Unfortunately, this is what Morning Star did to us. We left Dubai and arrived in Kenya with all hopes of having a lifetime experience with Morning Star. Mr Joseph kept us in the dark by not informing us that the Land Cruiser that he had assigned to us was not in a well-maintained condition. Can you imagine the Land Cruiser that gets assigned to you for game drives in the jungle at any odd times of the day / night getting stopped on its own in the middle of the road, with no hopes to start again !!! Only when someone pushes the cruiser from behind, it would then start. This was our Day 1 experience with your Land Cruiser that was being driven by Driver Joseph. Even the window panes were so loose and not kept well that it would be difficult to put them up and down.
Very sad to see the company say that they got us the best Land Cruiser and that they never got any complaints from that vehicle from their past customers.
I wouldn’t have known the true face of your driver or your staff on the very first day. Ofcourse I told Mr Joseph that the vehicle was not appropriate and that the driver was fine. How do you expect me to screen your driver’s intentions the very first day ??
On top of it, there were no binoculars in the Land Cruiser that was assured to us by Mr Joseph while fixing the itinerary.
I raised this with Driver Joseph the same day and he just said that his vehicle is just fine and maybe this was just a one off instance. I told him clearly that the vehicle should not stop again. I told him about the windows too, ofcourse, but he had no answer. All he said was that his clients had done them bad. On binoculars he said that the travel company never gave him one! Anyway, since it was our first day with Driver Joseph, we thought let's see what he has to offer in terms of the day. One thing I noticed him saying always is that other drivers know very little about the game drive routes through the jungle, so he needs to guide them and be with those vehicles. Ofcourse, we trusted what he said. First day went and we did miss our binoculars, so we told Driver Joseph to speak to the travel company and get one as that was assured to us already. He kept saying that the travel company should do the needful well in time and keep its promises so that the client does not have to suffer. He said he will try to arrange binoculars.
The same evening we called Mr Joseph and told him about the missing binoculars and even the car getting stopped in the middle of the road. As usual, he started with his over sweet sugar coated words and said that he will send his Operations Manager to handover the binoculars to us at sharp 10 am wherever we will be as he will be in touch with Driver Joseph. He also made a note that the car stopped and that he will speak with Driver Joseph. Thinking this may go against Driver Joseph, we told Mr Joseph that the only good thing that happened to us was that he had assigned Driver Joseph as he seems to be quite aware of the routes and can give us a good safari experience, but yes we told him that he must pay attention for the missing binoculars and the poor vehicle condition. He assured us he will look into this.
Day 2 and Driver Joseph again came with no binoculars, no news from Mr Joseph or his Operations Manager. The vehicle in the same condition, poor windows, poor hand brakes and no guarantee if it will stop again and not restart on its own. Moreover, we were supposed to have a packed lunch that we had already placed the order through Mr Joseph 2 weeks prior!! The Hotel Chef during breakfast time came to us asking what we would like to carry for packed lunch as he had no information about it. We were surprised as we expected packed lunch for 4 of us family members, they told us that no one from the travel company or the driver informed them so they did not prepare anything and worst of all the hotel was totally out of stock of any fruits even at 8 am. All the hotel chef could assure us was fried rice and vegetable sandwiches. We were still okay with his offer and agreed and thanked him. But when we opened the packed lunch in the jungle, all we found was white bread with pathetic cucumber and tomatoes and plain boiled white rice (see pics attached).
When we mentioned this to Driver Joseph, he started putting all the blame on Morning Star for not keeping its promises, he even said that he was not informed by Mr Joseph regarding the packed lunch else he would have coordinated with the hotel staff. He also said that he feels bad to see how travel agencies cheat on their clients. By now, we felt Driver Joseph is innocent and is trying his best to help us in every situation.
We went to the game drive but suddenly we felt odd as we noticed Driver Joseph was only following other vehicles, not trying to explore any known route by himself. In fact he said that other drivers are unaware of the routes so they have requested him to stick along with them. Anyway, we still felt he was being truthful. There came a time when we saw two vehicles stopping near a pack of 5 female lions. Driver Joseph followed the vehicles and took us to the spot. While we were glaring at the lion coming closer to us, suddenly our land cruiser stopped. I didn't realise anything till Driver Joseph muttered the word 'Shit'. He tried to restart and as always it would not turn on. I then realised our vehicle had now stopped and was not restarting.
Believe me, I froze for those few minutes. He kept trying to restart the vehicle but it would just not start. The driver of other vehicles kept looking at us, and in their own language they started to say something. None of the drivers could get down from the vehicles as the lions were right in front of us and very close. Driver Joseph realised I was in panic, and kept saying that it would restart in a minute. It never did. My husband kept telling me that I should not worry and Driver Joseph would surely have his own way of rescue etc. He kept supporting Driver Joseph as he felt it wasn't his mistake. But my point is, why did our vehicle stop and did not restart ? Why was it malfunctioning in the middle of the jungle, and this was not the first incident. I had already raised this vehicle condition issue with Driver Joseph and Mr Joseph, so definitely they were to be questioned. Those 10 mins, my entire life flashed in front of my eyes, I remembered my parents and I apologised to myself for putting my family, especially my kids in this terrible situation. Did they deserve this on a vacation ?????????????
Since no one could get out of the vehicle, one of the other vehicles pushed our vehicle and after a few tries, it restarted. I sighed and thanked God immensely. By now, I was absolutely speechless with not a word from me. When Driver Joseph turned the vehicle around, he started asking me for forgiveness and requested me to not complain to Morning Star or Mr Joseph about this incident as has a family to look after, he said the car's condition was not his fault, it is all the company's responsibility. I just kept quiet as I was recovering from the recent shock. Later I just told him to get his vehicle completely repaired no matter what, and he promised me that it would not stop again.
Our Land Cruiser was the only vehicle in the entire Kenya without any company branding!! Look at its covers, stepney covers. I have the pictures with me.
He again started following the other vehicles for further game drive. He then noticed a big deep puddle that had to be crossed as many cruisers were standing across the puddle to witness some more lions and leopards. But Driver Joseph said we should not take the risk with the vehicle and avoid that route. My younger daughter kept crying all through the way as she wanted to see those animals too along with other land cruisers. Of Course we said nothing, as we didnt want another trouble for us. The sun was almost setting down by now.
On his way back, he kept saying that it wasn't his fault, in fact he is taking us to all the routes which no one else knows, rather other drivers are following him. We kept quiet the entire way. He said the next day as per our itinerary, he will take us to Lake Nakuru National Park for sightings of Flamingos and Rhinos. We were excited about it and thought of forgetting the past and enjoying the rest of our game drives.
Day 3 he took us to Lake Nakuru and we had to just eat lunch and leave. We had informed the hotel 2 hours in advance and pre-ordered our lunch menu. But when we arrived, the food wasn't ready. We had to wait for more than an hour after having pre-ordered our food, informing our travel agent Mr Joseph and even Driver Joseph. We therefore wasted a lot of our time as food came very late and of course I wouldn't ask my kids to gulp everything quickly just because of the game drive.
After food, when we met Driver Joseph, we told him how mismanaged the hotel staff was and that the food wasn't ready when we checked in. At this Driver Joseph said that the lady at reception is very rude and people are complaining about her bad attitude so this has happened to us possibly because of that. We still trusted every word of Driver Joseph as we felt he was trying to be kind and supportive to us in every situation. He took us for a game drive, but he took a very short route where we could not spot any pink flamingos and not a single rhino to be seen. This time he was not following any vehicle and that possibly is the reason we could not spot anything and he finished the game drive in less than an hour!!! We saw the other vehicle taking a different route but our Driver Joseph started going back. We asked him what happened and he just said that it's already 545 pm and we need to exit as it's getting closed at 6 pm. We were very disappointed as we had not seen a single pink flamingo nor a single rhino, forget about lions and leopards. It was a very disappointing game drive as we just wasted our time watching plants and trees and monkeys and a few zebras. On our drive back to the hotel, he kept blaming Morning Star for misleading the clients with wrong game drives, he said the lake Nakuru National Park does not have any flamingos or rhinos. He said instead the travel agent should have booked us on a different game drive and not the Lake Nakuru National Park. He said he felt very bad to see the travel agents cheating on clients like this!! We came back to the hotel very early. Somehow we felt Driver Joseph was in a hurry that day, realising it only later that he had his home in Nakuru.
During dinner time, we happened to meet this other family at the hotel who went for the same game drive and they mentioned they saw plenty of pink flamingos and even the rhinos though they were sleeping at that time. By now I was furious. I immediately called up Driver Joseph and told him that the other driver took the other family deep inside to spot the flamingos as well as the rhinos. I asked him to speak to the other driver and call me back. He said he will check and call me. 30 mins passed and he never called me, I called Driver Joseph again, and he kept saying that he is trying to speak with Morning Star Mr Joseph but there is no response yet, he said he will try to call Mr Joseph again and call me back. I agreed and waited again. He still did not call me back for the next 30 mins. I was respecting the fact that Driver Joseph had asked us not to report anything about him to the travel agent as it might affect his job. But now I felt something fishy.
This time I called up Mr Joseph. I informed him about the disappointing game drive. He said he was surprised to know that we did not spot any flamingos and rhinos for which Lake Nakuru is known for. He said he will speak to Driver Joseph and call me back. After sometime Mr Joseph called me back and told me that he had spoken with Driver Joseph and asked him to take us to the game driver again early in the morning so we don't miss out on flamingos and rhinos. He asked us to be ready by 630 am the next day. I told Mr Joseph that breakfast will not be served that early, however, even if we start early we can be ready by 730 am. He agreed. I thanked Mr Joseph and also told him clearly that we don't want any more surprises now. Mr Joseph kept repeating his sugar coated words and statements - 'We are there to help you ma'am and we will make sure you have an unforgettable experience to cherish for our Kenya vacation.' He kept on requesting that we should be ready early in the morning next day so we don't miss out on the game drive.
I thought let's not look at the past now and instead focus on times ahead. We immediately informed the F&B staff that we will come for breakfast early and they can be ready. They took our pre-order. Next morning I woke up my kids at 445 am so they can freshen up and use the toilet before we ask them to have breakfast. Poor them, they listened to us and we were all ready to go for breakfast. We finished our breakfast quickly, and while we were winding up, my husband called Driver Joseph, and to our surprise he was sleeping!!! He said he had no idea about today's morning game drive. We were shocked to hear this. Now I called Mr Joseph and asked him what's the matter, he again confirmed that he had clearly instructed Driver Joseph last evening and he was supposed to report at 730 am or at best 8 am next day. I really did not understand who was lying between the two.
Mr Joseph said he will call Driver Joseph again and ask him to reach the hotel. Driver Joseph reached very late, 835 am!!! The first thing he uttered from his mouth - 'Not my fault, the company Morning Star never informed me earlier. They told me just now, today morning!!' I lost it by now, I was very angry with Mr Joseph because I thought he lied to us. We told Driver Joseph that how come the other driver could take the other family to spot flamingos and rhinos and we could not. He said he has spoken with the driver and will try today.
When we reached the Lake Nakuru National Park gate, Driver Joseph told us that entry needs payment again. I refused as this was not us but Morning Star who had misorganized everything and put us in this situation. Driver Joseph stopped the vehicle and said that Mr Joseph has told him clearly not to go as he was consu;ting with his management. He started to close down the roof and turn back the vehicle to which we objected. He did not listen and said he could not have entered as Mr Joseph was discussing with management. I now called Mr Joseph and asked him what's happening. I was not able to understand who is lying between the two of them as Mr Joseph said that he has asked Driver Joseph that he is paying at his end and to take us inside. I decided to put both of them on a conference call and asked Driver Joseph to converse in English so we could understand what they were speaking. I kept questioning Mr Joseph on a loudspeaker conference call that why did you not inform the driver about all this payment and today's game drive last night. Mr Joseph confirmed again that he did speak and inform Driver Joseph last night itself and he does not understand why Driver Joseph is refuting that. I now asked Driver Joseph to respond to this statement of Mr Joseph in English. Would you believe he NEVER SPOKE IN ENGLISH!! We understood it was Driver Joseph who had been lying to us since Day 1. He could not once see me straight to my eyes as he was lying. I kept asking Driver Joseph why he was cheating on us all this while. He had no answer at all. You know what he did with us in the middle of the road in the hot sun!!!! He came out of the vehicle and vanished. He pretended he was on call speaking with Mr Joseph but it was my husband Mr Hrishkesh Bawa who was speaking with Mr Joseph on the other line. The vehicle seemed to be even moving as the hand brakes were not perfect. We were now very worried and started to feel unsafe. We called Mr Joseph multiple times and told him to either tell him to enter the Lake Nakuru National Park or tell the Driver to take us to Lake Naivasha which was our next destination.
Driver Joseph by now was extremely adamant and just was ignoring us big time. He realised we had caught him red handed speaking lies and putting all blame to others. But the way he was behaving with us, leaving the vehicle and disappearing, not telling us way forward, not even bothering to switch on the vehicle AC, not caring at all about two little girls sitting under the hot sun, was making us feel unsafe. We were getting a feeling that this driver can go to any extent of speaking lies and just does not care about anything. He just said that Mr Joseph has not yet made any payment for Lake Nakuru again so he cannot proceed. We had no choice and were stuck in this situation for more than an hour!!!!! After countless back and forth with Mr Joseph, finally the payment was done by him and we entered the Lake Nakuru National Park but imagine the time by now. We had wasted almost 4 hours and don't forget my kids have been awake since 445 am !!!!! They were literally in tears and crying witnessing this whole event, they were not able to understand why this driver was behaving so badly and lying. They told me that they were getting scared of this driver. I told them not to worry and that if anything wrong happens, I will go straight to the police, so they then felt we were all safe and the driver cannot harm us.
Now driver Joseph was really misbehaving as he was not guiding us at all in the game drive route but intentionally was taking us through the same route as the previous day where we had spotted no animals at all. By now, my husband lost his cool and asked him firmly where he was taking us to. Driver Joseph was not even responding. I told him firmly to behave well with us as I was feeling unsafe with him especially with my two daughters. Then he just muttered - 'He is making too much noise and putting pressure on me.'. Now I realised that this driver is acting very oversmart. I was very loud and clear with him that he has been so painful with us and unreasonably difficult and speaking lies all the time that if he misbehaves again or blames anyone else, I will report to the police immediately and tell them how he has harassed us so far and continues to do so.
Driver Joseph realised that I have understood his strategy of fooling us around and can really take action and report to police. He immediately said sorry and then spoke to the other driver who told us to go to the route which my husband Mr Hrishikesh Bawa had already mentioned to him as we had noticed the other vehicle that side, the evening before, and so finally we could see plenty of flamingos. We also, on the way, spotted 3 Rhinos (though only for a few seconds as they were rushing inside the bushes). But this proved that he had NOT TAKEN US TO THE RIGHT ROUTE the previous day nor he was ready to take us till the time we literally urged him to. Imagine such a waste of time just because of poor coordination between Mr Joseph and Driver Joseph. All they both did was blame each other very conveniently, not realising the damage they were doing to the customer. I told Mr Joseph that I will not leave this matter and will definitely escalate the matter to the senior management of Morning Star. I told him he cannot take this entire experience as a joke as it was a matter of my family's safety and care.
Mr Joseph kept apologizing but not sure if he really understood the gravity of the situation. I also told him that the way these two people had dealt with us, made us believe they did not have kids themselves. He just kept using his sweet sugar coated words and this was only annoying me by now.
We left Lake Nakuru and then went to Naivaisha for our next sightseeing. We had a boat ride and a safari walk booked but when we went there, we were told at the counter that our safari walk was not paid by the travel agent. We immediately called up Mr Joseph asking him about the confusion and then he said he will sort it out. We were super frustrated by now but who cared ? Neither Mr Joseph nor Driver Joseph. After a back and forth of a few calls, we were told we will be taken for the safari walk.
But the point is why so much discomfort and dishonesty to the customer? Morning Star charges all money in advance to torture us later ?? I told Mr Joseph that I need to speak with the Founder and Managing Director of Morning Star so I can tell him what mental stress he gave to me and my family. I don't care what you did for us in the itinerary but the fact you gave us such a horrifying experience, I simply ask you to refund every single penny that you had charged me for this trip. I should rather ask you for more compensation for such a pathetic experience and suffering to my family.
And by the way, Mr Joseph had offered us company branded T-Shirts before our Masai Mara trip had to start, he took all the sizes assuring that he will handover the TShirts either before the start of the trip or after the trip gets over. But eventually he never even bothered to inform us or apologise for why he has not handed over the T-Shirts to us. He did not even talk about the T-Shirts after our trip.
So now I ask you Mr Nicholas and Mr Robert,- What would you have done if this had happened to your wife and kids ? Would you be okay? Would you live your life normal? Would you spare such scoundrels. I will go to every possible social media and share all my recorded phone conversations and chats with Morning Star and its associated staff. The least you could have done was to accept your mistake, take accountability and make a complete refund of my package amounting to USD 2348/-.
I marked an email to Mr Joseph as I had already informed him about this and I believe in being truthful and transparent in my interactions. He is also aware of the fact that none of the rooms that he had assured us during the bookings were made available to us, instead he charged us additional for one of the hotel rooms. I don't care what you organized for us on the trip and what all you funded because ultimately you put our lives in danger and utmost threatening situations which is absolutely UNACCEPTABLE AND HAS ZERO TOLERANCE
You owe me a response Mr Nicholas and Mr Robert and I look forward to your urgent attention to this matter and immediate action in the form of a complete refund to me. What you tell your representative Mr Joseph and the driver is not of my concern anymore. I need my refund of USD 2348/- , AND THAT IS IT!!!!!
Extremely disappointed and devastated,
Kshitiza Bawa
(Wife of Mr Hrishikesh Bawa)