Advice about Kumuka
Category: Kumuka | Nov 8th, 2006 By PumaWhat do people think about kumuka for south america trips. Do they offer value for money, how are their trucks.
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I completed the Africa in Focus tour in January 06′. Firstly i would like to thank Kumuka tours for the experience of a lifetime. I never thought Africa as a place of interest until it was recommended to me by a friend. How wrong i was.From the moment i set foot on the continent to the moment i left my breathe was taken away by the absolute beauty and sheer size of this magnifcance place which knows no bounds. The journey of a lifetime it rearly was with no faults to be found but a heart bleeding to get back to this wonderful place. Secondly a big thanks to our leader and driver Peter and Drew who’s knowledge was second tho none. And thirdly to anyone considering on doing a kumuka tour of Africa, what are you waiting for the tour of a lifetime awaits. With so many things to do and explore it surely will be one of life’s great journeys to travel through this awesome continent for anyone that dares dream, to do so. Thank you, Kane, Melbourne, Australia
Hope you remember me- i recently took a tour with Kumuka to Bolivia and Peru from Late March to Mid April (3 weeks) and had the most non-stop brilliant time over there.
The tour organisers were fantastic, very hands-off, took care of all and were upfront about all costs and helped to organise anything we wanted to do, all stress free!
Jo, Australia
The Galapagos was FANTASTIC!!! You have to make it one of your future trips
( I read Cara’s notes in the news letter about her trip recently…I guess
there is only one Cara who works at Kumuka office!) Everyone should go to
the Galapagos if they like wildlife.
We saw heaps of things, but for me the best bit was snorkeling with the sea
lions, they were so playfull. I had a game of catch with one who brought me
a star fish to throw for him…amaizing. The water was a little chilly but I
didnt even think about it once I looked down, so many huge colourfull fish,
sharks, loads of turtles, penguins, and all within a couple of feet. It is probably one of the best places I have ever been, even though it cost the same for 8 days as I just spent on 2 months in Central America! So save hard…it really is a great trip.
I have sent all details to my parents!
Julia Osborne
I did the Inca trail in September this year and the tour was amazing, chilled, good crowd- 18 of us all like minded, the inclusions were exactly as outlined, we just sat back and enjoyed the trip as me and my girlfriend were already travelling for several months, we could not be bothered to work out where and when and how to get around and I have to say it was one of my better ideas, a lot better than my spanish & map reading skills. We saw all the things we set out to see and more, the crew were brilliant and were like walking and talking guide books, much more up to date for that matter, they pointed out item after item of things to do in our free time and free days, we could go and explore on our own. They really made the trip by adding more flavour and culture to our trip. The highlights and inclusions were great, the family home stay was brilliant and even rivalled the awsome Macchu Picchu. It really gave us a birds eye view of Peruvian life and culture. Awsome culture and Country. I recommend Kumuka to anyone and the funny thing is that my friend recommended them to me for Africa, just out of general chit chat about travel, he told me that he done the five weeker in the Middle East and an amazing Kenya Tanzania safari! So thats two recommendations in one. Go for it…you won’t be disapointed.
Uzi London
Kumuka trucks are blue, well laid out and spacious, lots of romm for storage as well. Just to answer your question about value for money well that’s a subjective area as it depend on how much you want to spend! You get what you paid for, so there you have it with that one, but I can honestly say that with Kumuka you know what you are getting and that leaves you at ease to relax and enjoy your travel. My ex- did a budget tour from a budget company and she did have a good time but it cost her more to have that good time..so check out what you want to see and work out the things that you want to do and check out who to go with, that’s what I did and Kumuka worked out really good and inclusive. I even got a discount from a special they had running at the time!
Who ever you go with have a great time!!
Kaz
I am currently a passenger on a Kumuka tour. I am currently in Santiago, Chile, but am travelling from Quito to Rio! I am writing this because I feel the need to tell you all how fantastic my tour leader has been and I am concerned that her ability, knowledge and energy might be unrealised.
I have overlanded with Kumuka previously. In 1999 I spent 10 weeks in Africa on “MUZZA”, travelling between Nairobe and Harare, with Prue and Shaun. This was the first time that I had travelled in such a way and I loved it…I had the most incredible experiences. It was brilliant and Prue and Shaun could not be faulted. Since then I have travelled several times with several other companies but having had slightly less than satisfactory experiences so this year I decided I had to return to Kumuka for my 4 month holiday!
I have been travelling between Quito and Santiago for 8 weeks now and the trip has been nothing short of mind blowing. This is completely thanks to Liz Taylor my tour guide (and of course Dan our ever reliable driver!) Her previous travelling experience is plainly obvious and we have all benefitted from it! She lives for travel and her knowledge about people, places and customs is phenomenal.
She is so keen to share what she has learnt. She tells us that she has only been to South America once previously and that was 2 years ago, however she must have a photographic memory because she knows so much about every place we visit. It?s as if she was there last week. I?m constantly impressed and trust every word that she speaks. Several times now i?ve sat in the front cab of “WAMM”, our beautiful truck, in the “pixie seat” as its called, while Liz and Dan have been negotiating roads (without roadsigns!) using only rough road maps and vague route notes. I have watched her direct Dan (who is also knew to South America) through these small villages and down dirt tracks from memory! I feel that many of our drive days could have been much longer without her incredible local knowledge.
Every hotel we visit, every campsite we stay in and every group meal we prepare together, I see Liz busting her gut and bending over backwards, however it appears effortless and I know thats because she loves her job. She constantly gives so much of herself but unfortunately on a daily basis i?ve seen other passengers on this trip ignore her, talk over her and blatently be rude to her face! I cant believe it! I didn?t know that adults actually behaved that way and at times it has made me embarrassed to be a passenger on this trip. I?m not sure whether these people are aware that they are doing this, however the self aware, responsible and considerate adult in me would be well aware of it if I were to treat another person in such a way!
However, due to Liz? amazing sense of self worth, I?ve watched it wash straight off her back. This lady has thick skin and I?m sure has had to deal with harder and tougher experiences than a few rude passengers that came expecting smooth roads, soft pillows, hot showers, power points for their hair straighteners and a personal slave!
She has been so helpful and has shared so much of her own travelling experiences with me and fuelled in me a desire to travel farther and wider than I have already; to places i?ve never even considered. I feel priveledged to have had her as my tour leader and hope that one day I am lucky enough to travel with her again (especially in South America, because her Spanglish is amazing and mine is still crap!)
Yours sincerely
Matt Manton
My girlfriend Natalie and I were on the European Escapade leg of the tour led by Susan and Kevin in June this year and had an incredible holiday and experience to last a lifetime. The group of people we travelled with were fantastic and very friendly, the places we visited were spectacular and the tour leader and driver were the best I?ve ever travelled with. We?d like to congratulate Kumuka on providing such a wonderful holiday for us both and thank Susan and Kevin for everything! Hopefully we?ll see them again on a future Kumuka tour when we go back to Europe.
Dave
I have recently returned to the uk from nepal, and i just wanted to let you know that i had a great time on my kumuka trip. seeing as i booked it online from kathmandu just a few days before the departure i wasn’t sure what to expect, but i had a great time. the guide, naba, was excelllent and the porters were worth their weight in gold! i was very impressed with the overall organisation, both in the uk and in nepal, so a big thanks to kumuka!
We had a fantastic time on the Kumuka, Highlights of China tour. The accommodation in all 3 hotels was very good, especially the Traveler Inn, Beijing, which was in a very interesting location. The guide “Joyce” was always very helpful and everything she arranged ran like clock-work. I am so impressed with Kumuka product that I just wanted to let you all know that they are not budget, not up market but very value for money and quality so don’t waste your money doing a Kuoni tour, they are just as good if not better & Cheaper!
Yvonne.
Hi,
I am about to head on the 28 day tour ” East Africa Express” with Kumuka in October. I have to say that as an Aussie booking through Katie in the Sydney office, it has been a very easy and comforting experienc so far.
From all I can tell the tour should be a fantastic experience and that we will be in good hands.
I’ll try to make sure I update as I go or when I am back.
Nicole
P.S. Thanks to all those who have posted already - its all helpful!
I did a long tour with Kumuka last year in South America on a truck and have to say I found things were not as I hoped they would be. The driver and guide (Brendon & Natelie) were fantastic, they did so much to help everyone and spent their time trying to keep the trip running while Kumuka did nothing to help them.
The meals the crew made for us were great, best I have eaten anywhere while on holiday but some of the meals us pax cooked were grim and a few pax got ill because people didn’t listen to advice about how & what to cook.
The truck was a slow, old, antique and broke down all the time, the driver spent most nights under the thing fixing it so we could continue the next day. On one day it broke down 5 times and the driver worked up to 2am and from 6am to 9pm to fix it the next day.
When we were in Argentina we froze at night in about -20c tempritures but we hadn?t been told to bring warm clothes with us from Kumuka.
I left the trip in Santiago and then went to Cuba to recover, I am doing another Overland trip in 2008 but didn?t want to book with Kumuka again so booked with Absolute Africa. I hear from other travellers, that lots of problems with Kumuka come from them giving the trucks away to drivers to run themself and they try to save money by not maintaining them.
Then if you have a problem Kumuka wash their hands and say its nothing to do with them, its not what I want when I book a trip with a company.
Susan
Please read the write up on Kumuka in The Times:
http://travel.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/travel/news/article3724767.ece
April 13, 2008
Overland trucks potential ‘death traps’Chris Haslam
It?s ?only a matter of time? before a serious tragedy involving an overland truck takes place, according to sources in the adventure-travel industry, after a former driver blew the whistle on one of Britain?s biggest overland operators.
Brendan has recently returned to the UK after spending a year working as a mechanic in South America for Kumuka Worldwide. The London-based company sells overland trips, typically lasting 21 nights, with passengers travelling in specialised trucks, but Blithell claims that since Kumuka offloaded its vehicles to local operators, safety has deteriorated.
?The truck I drove was a death trap,? he says. ?We drove with bald tyres, no brakes, no safety belts and no insurance, on mountain roads in the Andes.? Brendan, who says he paid for repairs from his own funds, reported his concerns to Kumuka repeatedly, but says that since responsibility for the maintenance of the 35-year-old truck had been passed on to a local operator, the company was unresponsive.
In one e-mail to the firm, he states: ?We need the radiator fixed, two shock absorbers, repairs to the rear door that has rotted away, repairs to two misshapen wheels, repair to the speedo, and we have a problem with the front brakes. We are also hunting a windscreen as it?s cracked.?
Another reports: ?14 breakdowns between Lima and Santiago. Not good.? Brendan warned Kumuka that clients ?are shocked at the state of the truck?. One passenger, Dave Graham, even blogged about a drive of ?seven hours over the Andes from Cuzco, in a truck without any functioning lights or brakes?.
When we asked Kumuka about these allegations, it said: ?We take our clients? safety very seriously indeed. We require our subcontractors in Latin America, as in other destinations, to maintain vehicles to a good, safe standard. But we are not complacent and we continuously review all our operational areas, including this aspect.?
Kumuka is not the only overland operator to sell off its fleet. ?Most companies are disposing of fixed assets,? said an industry insider. ?They?re offloading to local operators, but that means that no matter what they tell clients, it is very hard to ensure the safety standards they kept when the trucks were their responsibility.?
Currently, only Dragoman and Oasis still own and operate their own vehicles in South America.
Ignore the positive comments below this article, probably by staff at Kumuka trying to save face. One pax reported that he didn’t even think Brendan worked for Kumuka and yet the ‘Real Oliver’ was on the truck driven by Brendan in South America and the ‘real Ed’ was on the truck when it broke down 15 times in 21 days, not the guy you would think to sing the praise of Kumuka.
More Kumuka info: Llanrwst couple lucky to be alive after travel firm hell.
Here is the link to the write up in the press.
http://icnorthwales.icnetwork.co.uk/weeklynews/news/tm_headline=llanrwst-couple-lucky-to-be-alive-after-travel-firm-hell%26method=full%26objectid=20775092%26siteid=50142-name_page.html
Weekly News
Llanrwst couple lucky to be alive after travel firm hellApr 17 2008
by Samantha Castle, North Wales Weekly News
A LLANRWST couple say they are lucky to be alive after working for a travel firm they claim put their lives, and those of tourists, at risk.
Natalia Acevedo, 32, and her husband Brenden, 38, have recently spent a year working in South America for Kumuka Worldwide, a London-based company which sells overland trips with passengers travelling in specialised trucks.
But Brendan claims that since Kumuka offloaded its vehicles to third party operators, tourist safety has deteriorated.
The former Kumuka driver could not believe the condition of the vehicles: ?I have 20 years of experience driving professionally but never expected the tourist trucks to be in such an unfit state.
?We drove with bald tyres, no brakes, no safety belts and no insurance on narrow mountain roads. I was constantly working on the truck when it broke down and even paid for its repairs out of my own pocket. To expect tourists to pay thousands of pounds travelling in these conditions is shocking.?
Weekly News
Llanrwst couple lucky to be alive after travel firm hellApr 17 2008
by Samantha Castle, North Wales Weekly News
A LLANRWST couple say they are lucky to be alive after working for a travel firm they claim put their lives, and those of tourists, at risk.
Natalia Acevedo, 32, and her husband Brenden, 38, have recently spent a year working in South America for Kumuka Worldwide, a London-based company which sells overland trips with passengers travelling in specialised trucks.
But Brendan claims that since Kumuka offloaded its vehicles to third party operators, tourist safety has deteriorated.
The former Kumuka driver could not believe the condition of the vehicles: ?I have 20 years of experience driving professionally but never expected the tourist trucks to be in such an unfit state.
?We drove with bald tyres, no brakes, no safety belts and no insurance on narrow mountain roads. I was constantly working on the truck when it broke down and even paid for its repairs out of my own pocket. To expect tourists to pay thousands of pounds travelling in these conditions is shocking.?
Kumuka?s website boasts: ?The big blue truck will virtually be your home for many weeks so we make our trucks as comfortable as possible. Our vehicles carry a range of spare parts and are all well maintained by local mechanics.?
Brenden begs to differ, saying Kumuka is putting lives at risk.
?The trucks are registered on international permits with the understanding that they should be well maintained, but the truth is a very different matter,? said Brenden.
?We used one truck that was ex-German Army and had been in South America for 12 years and the Middle East before that; it was always breaking down in the middle of tours.?
Brenden reported his concerns to Kumuka, but was told that responsibility for the maintenance of the 35-year-old truck had been passed to a local operator.
When the Weekly News asked Kumuka about these allegations, it said: ?Kumuka have been operating overland tours for over 24 years in Africa, and over 12 years in the Middle East and South America, has carried in excess of 35,000 overlanding clients, and to date has not had a single fatality involving these vehicles.?
But Brenden added: ?Paying tourists put their trust in reputable travel firms like Kumuka, and in light of the fatal Ecuador bus crash this week I advise travellers to South America to make sure they are getting the service and safety they deserve.?
samantha.castle
I don’t agree or disagree with the statements made by Brendan regarding the state/maintenance/safety of Kumuka trucks in South America.
What I would like to know is why any reasonable and qualified Driver would knowingly drive a vehicle loaded with passengers through some of the most mountainous areas in the world with, quote: “bald tyres, no brakes, no safety belts and no insurance”? Surely the final call is the Drivers? For their own sake as well as their passengers?
The industry as a whole has overall a fantastic safety record and potential clients must take into account ALL feedback when making a choice as to who to travel with. Independent forums such as these are a great place to start but also keep in mind that the entire industry should not be tarred with the same brush.
I agree its our call, however when the company hold all your pay what can you do, if I had walked out sooner the pax would have been left at the roadside and lost their dream and they paid a lot of money to be there, its not their fault they become victims of a bad company. I went to South America with the idea of working there for between 2 & 3 years, my contract was for a min. of 12 months and I wouldn’t have been paid back my flights if I left sooner, we started to complain to the company within a month about the conditions but they choose to ignore these problems.
My wife & I handed our notice in after 6 months and worked up to the end of our contract and are still owed thousands of pounds in pay from Kumuka, we have now issued court proceedings against them for breach of contract. Even when I broke my ankle they couldn’t find anyone to take over from me and I continued to work for over 3 weeks with a broken ankle until they canceled the next tour, one of the reasons was they had no replacement crew.
The driver I took over from lasted 8 months with Kumuka and then moved to another company and said it was worlds better, Oasis are a fantastic company to work for, their crews are happy and never leave, the company backs them up 100% with anything they need.
At one point my 3rd party manager wouldn’t spend ?130 to buy a part to fix the exhaust brake for over 3 months but would take off for days on end drinking and spend more than that on beer.
Pax just have no idea what they are getting into as the brochure looks fantastic and the company had a good history but when they arrived and found out what they had let them self in for they complained every moment of every day and Kumuka ignore their complaints and ours, we had a diabetic who had to fly home after 14 days because the truck had no fridge despite Kumuka telling him several times it did.
The only way I could get out of there was to stay and work out my contract, now I am free I want to open people’s eyes… go Overlanding with Dragoman, Oasis and even Budget / Toucan but stay a long way away from Kumuka for your sake.
I have heard and experienced this before, lack of back up drivers/ co drivers when things go wrong. It wasnt with Kumuka but with Dragoman. I dont know whether this is a problem with the Industry as a whole! crew retention? or whether the companies run without any crew capacity in their operations.
I agree with Tania in her analysis. You simply have to carefully need to analyse the statements by the driver and the freelance writer from Sunday Times and also look at lots of positive comments from other customers at Kumuka .
I will start by the driver first .Look at the actions of a the driver who is actively promoting other companies in his responses and stating that he is owed thousands of pounds and suggesting that there are proceedings against the company. You have to ask yourself Is this a disgruntled employee of a sub-contractor simply trying hold the company to ransom?
If he is a very professional that he tries to set himself out to be why he would not put the safety of his passenger, his wife and in-laws first. Why would he risk his own life and his family?s life and his customers for the sake of dreams? Why would he drive the truck in the condition that it was?
Ask him How did he avoid having an accident in the mountainous roads, how did he stop the vehicle with bold tires 400o above sea level? Either he is a magician or he is dreaming. Is there a friend that knows this guy for what he is? Please write and tell the overlanding community for the sake of Overland industry.
For the freelance writer from the Sunday Times . What investigation has Chris done ? Could he not ask himself the same basic questions that I am asking here ? why would he continue with his driving with no brakes , bald tyres , his wife and family on board and a broken wrist ? Was he jealous of his wife driving with another man in the cab ? How did he avoid having accidents ? Could Chris himself try reaching London on the M4 from Bristol on a straight road without brakes and bald tyres and see whether he will make it to London safe and sound and tell his story . Chris good luck and Sunday Times may report his amazing escape !!!
I would like to add my $’s worth too as a ex overland driver who did a few months for Kumuka years ago, even then the seeds of what this driver is reporting had been laid down.
Firstly ask yourself if this driver is working for another company, I think the answer can only be NO as he talkes about not only one other company, his promotion of them looks to me like a way of helping future passengers find a good company to travel with, I would say those actions are very professional to promote safe travel in the light of deaths involving British & Europeen tourists in vehicle related deaths in Latin America. I also think no other company would employ him as a driver after going public about this so what has the guy to benefit other than telling the truth, I would gladly drive for this guy if he ran a company because its safety first, proffit second with him from what I see.
As a Overland driver you have to drive beyond the normal safe limits of a vehicle, the conditions are such that it is required sometimes but you need to know you can trust your truck and from what I have seen both here and from first hand experence from Kumuka they just haven’t invested enough money in looking after their trucks for the last 10+ years to make sure they are safe. When I joined them I was shocked and thankfully I left within months because I moved to another company who use big yellow trucks, they were not fantastic either but worlds better than Kumuka’s trucks and the company backed us up better.
Now it looks like it will continue as these new truck owners try to cut corners and turn an extra proffit by charging Kumuka the same for the trip but try to reduce costs. It hasn’t worked with things like Net Work rail and British Rail, by the Hadfield crash it was shown private proffit endangers passengers.
I too was and am still owed money by Kumuka, its not as much as this guy talkes about and I was lucky that I was on my own and I could simply walk to another company and not worry too much about it but if I had been in his situation of being stuck without the money to get out I guess I would have had to stay too.
Unless you are a mechanic such as most of us drivers I don’t think you can question his ability there, you would know there are more than one operational brake on a truck and it can be driven with reduced ability with one of these not working, that doesn’t mean its safe to drive like this but from what I know and see this driver was forced into this situation. Most of the trucks in South America have bald tyres and drive around but as a Europeen company and as Europeen drivers we have standards to live up to, if anything happens with a local bus or truck & a few locals are killed nothing much happens, if we kill anyone in a crash the Australian and British Police would be there on the next flight and it would be our heads on a block.
It looks like Kumuka know this and have given the trucks to a 3rd party to run to try and escape any future liability problem when someone does die, and yes they will as its only a question of time with the condition of some of the trucks being used. Given all the items written by former pax who have also suffered the conditions on Kumuka’s trucks in the last few years I feel this guy is being very brave in taking on the industry like this, I wish I had the balls when I was driving to say something.
I have seen no mention of Kumuka taking legal action against The Times ? The Times is a very trusted paper and takes a lot of time to research the background to claims long before they go to press and also pass things through a legal team first to make sure they have proof to back up their claims if things go wrong. I can’t see any paper going to press with such a story and claims without a watertight case file of proof to back things up, if The Times is making false claims then we will see a case in court soon then I guess, my reading of the situation is the managers at Kumuka know these claims are true and can’t do anything about it other than not give the driver his money as they have done.
I also see mention to several things in Rebecca’s item that make me suspect she perhaps works for Kumuka, she mentions things that have not been mentioned in any previous post or writing on this subject, such things could only have come from involvement in this situation. Talking about this via email to another close friend who is still a guide in South America (on a big yellow truck) she tells me there was a Local Transport Tour Leader for Kumuka last year called Rebecca from Australia who is now a Manager for Kumuka and she had a relationship with one of the drivers who is now one of the 3rd party truck operators for Kumuka & who is subject of these comments in direct relation to the condition of the trucks , if this Rebecca is the very same then I hardly think her comments are without some influence but of the wrong kind !
Her effort to try and find someone who knows this driver to give the ‘inside story’ on him looks like an effort to try and defend Kumuka against the drivers court action, if she is connected to Kumuka as I suspect she is.
I hope every past, present & future passenger of all Overland trips keeps a careful eye on what is happening with this situation and ex-driver, good luck to him for blowing the whistle but I wouldn’t like to be in his shoes.
I have noticed that overlanding has become a very small part of Kumukas extensive selection of tours. I was wondering if they still run their own trucks in the Middle east and Africa?
Hi Frank,
Kumuka run their own trucks in Africa in so far as the trucks are owned by folks who subcontract to Kumuka. Mainly ex-crew own the trucks and they are subject to Kumuka regulations and standards in regards to the tours they operate and how they operate. They are running in the middle east as well but I ma not sure if the set up is the same or if the trucks are owned by Kumuka directly. If you email Kumuka they will definitely let you know. Hope that makes sense.
Cheers.
Hi there,
I have done 4 trips with Kumuka now, over the last 3 years and all I can say is every trip I did was AMAZING! I travelled from Cape Town to Vic Falls in Africa, the truck and guide were awesome! I also went on a South America trip - Lima to La Paz - again Amazing, our truck did have a flat tyre on one day so we were delayed a while whilst the driver fixed the tyre but that was about it… I also went to China, this trip was not camping, it was run in a minivan and we stayed in hotels every night, not a thing went wrong, it was almost too good to be true maybe a bit boring, after all you want some kind of travel challenge to talk about… anyway I tested them again and went to Borneo again minivan/hotel type of tour, great crew, great tour leaders, one of the tour leaders got sick half way through but he was replaced immediately and the second one was even better.
I dont know, I guess every trip isnt going to be perfect and not everyone is going to be happy, perhaps court cases should be kept in the court and not blogged about on the www, after all thats not all that professional! Anyway I’ll travel again with Kumuka in a heartbeat and am planning just that.