AVOID THIS TOUR COMPANY WHATEVER YOU DO!
I AM PRETTY CERTAIN IT HAS NEW OWNERS WHO HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THEY ARE DOING AND COULDN'T CARE LESS HOW SAFELY OR OTHERWISE THEY ARE OPERATING.
I am in a lot of pain, I have been in a wheelchair since doing this trip and I am exhausted. I am self employed and so have had to cancel a month (so far ) of work. I have had to hire a wheelchair, have had to pay for taxis to get to appointments, and have had to arrange help from friends to look after me ( incurring extra expenses for them).
I use TripAdvisor because you can read real reviews from others who have done the thing you want to do. I researched well and booked one of the most expensive options because the reviews all said they felt safe, it was well organised and the camels were looked after.
When we arrived at the site, much much further into the desert than all the other camel rides, who had already started, via a precarious and dangerous route, with no actual road, we were surprised that it was just the 2 of us. The camels looked poorly looked after and the camel man could speak no English - despite that being requested. The camel I was on stood up before being told, as did my sisters. They refused to do what the man told them and I believe followed him because he had a stick. They were unhappy and digging their heels in refusing to move. My camel was tied to the saddle of my sister's in front with a rope just 20" long and was in pain.
The photos used to advertise the ride we booked above, must be library photos - my camels head was past the flank of the one in front, there was no gap or leeway, no comfort for him.
We stopped on a hill for some photos, which the camel man took. We both were really scared at this point and nervous laughing, my sis said I think we should stop. The man couldn't understand us and just kept laughing at us. After the photos I indicated he needed to make my camel more comfortable as he was in pain. As he loosened the neck harness, my camel ducked his head and slipped out. Instead of grabbing him, he did nothing. As soon as my camel realised he was free, he turned and started to bolt into the desert. I had no reins and just clung to the bar. Camels run at 65km/h. My headscarf flew off. I was terrified. As he approached a sharp drop, my seat came untied, it slid down the right side of the camel, and as I felt the animal start to topple, I let go and landed on the rock desert floor with a thud onto my right hip. I tried to stand and immediately collapsed with the pain.
The camel man ran after my camel, that he was never going to catch up with, and left my sister. Her camel then turned and started to run after mine. She bravely swung a leg over and started to lower herself to the ground before letting go and dropping. While she was not as badly injured as me, and she didn't realise at the time how bad she was and did not seek medical help, she also had a badly swollen and bruise left hip and dislocated her left shoulder.
I was in absolute agony and could barely move.
The driver, owner of the business, Mokktur was more worried about himself than us. In the car, as he started the precarious drive out of the desert, with me laying in the back in agony, he was crying and asking why had this happened to him. It didn't. It happened to me and my sister.
She had to tell him to stop crying and pull himself together.... several times. The entire time we were with him, I believe he only cared about himself and not us at all. He , at great pain and stress to us, took us not to the nearest hospital, but to the one his sister worked at. He even suggested we stopped on the way at his house "to rest". I was in agony, and shock and kept nearly passing out. The nearest hospital 35 minutes from the desert where I was injured, but he drove over 1 hour to take us to the clinic where his sister works. I was in agony in the car. At the hotel he wouldn't let me out of the taxi to start with saying that he is a good man and it wasn't fair this happened to him.
Unlike every person we were in contact with that night, the strangers from the desert (both English and Moroccan), and the friends ( who we'd met doing a balloon flight that morning, Adam and Karim), he is the only one who has made no further contact to check and see how we are.
The camel man had no control over the camels. I could see what was happening as soon as the camel ducked his head and stepped away and then bolted ( he acted the same as my dog when he doesn't want to go somewhere and ducks his head away from his collar and harness). He had no idea what they were doing or how they felt. It was as if he'd only just acquired them.
Mokktur, the operator is not mentioned in any of the company reviews on TripAdvisor, as others are. But after investigating and following the company link to their website, he is the contact. It feels as though he is new to this, maybe just acquired the business, and just asked a random camel guy in the desert if he wanted a few pounds for a quick job.
It all feels shoddy and unorganised. It was totally unsafe. It could have been so much worse.
Looking at the photo timeline, we were on the camels just 12 minutes.
We could have sustained far worse injuries, it could have been fatal.
A friend who worked organising camel rides in Egypt for 3 years said while she arranged 100's of thousands of such trip, she had NEVER heard of anything like this before. The locals who came to help, and the local friend who came to hospital to translate for us all said they had NEVER heard of anything like this.
Avoid.