I had a 2014 Novara Safari. It was my introduction to trekking bars. Unfortunately, the bike was crushed when I was rear-ended while driving back from a bike ride.
I have found the trekking bars to be much more hand friendly than drop bars. So many more hand positions. Have you tried rotating the handlebars, or even inverting them for lower or higher hand positions? I modified the Safari's replacement, a Jamis Renegade Expert, to use the butterfly bars, converting to an mtb drive train. The variety in hand positions is liberating. I only ever used the brake hoods and the horizontal top of the drop bars anyway, but I suppose people have different preferences. I love my trekking handlebars.