Fanuel Mateja (President) & Kathy Phinney (CEO)
Breakdown Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 1-5 employees (Founded in 2013)
- Tour Types:
- Custom budget & mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $25 to $375 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
Stunning safari experience
Our safari in Ruaha National Park with Breakdown Safaris was just an extraordinary experience. First of all, Kathy and Fan are really great people - very warm and friendly, well organised. Kathy is a great driver, Fan's knowledge about animals, birds and nature in general is impressive! There's no question He wouldn't be able to answer, in our opinion. Everything was perfectly organised, from the very beginning to the very end of whole trip. We felt taken care of, safe and comfortable all the time. We saw a lot of wonderful and unexpected things in Ruaha not only because of some luck and circumstances, but also because everything was done for us and with respect to our needs. We had as much time as we needed for watching, taking pictures, resting etc. For sure Breakdown Safaris is the company, we can highly recommend to anyone who appreciate individual and friendly treatment, professionalism, well organised great experience of safari while everything that needs to be done is just to enjoy animals and nature and have a lot of fun. We are already sure that we'll be back for another stunning safari in Tanzania - of course with no one else then Breakdown Safaris. Kathy, Fan we thank you again for all you made for us, for the very best time we had with you during this short (unfortunately!) but fantastic trip!
Nasze safari w Parku Narodowym Ruaha z Breakdown Safaris było fantastycznym i niezwykłym doświadczeniem. Przede wszystkim prowadzący je Kathy i Fan są naprawdę wspaniałymi ludźmi - ciepłymi, przyjacielskimi, świetnie zorganizowanymi. Kathy jest doskonałym kierowcą, zaś wiedza Fana o zwierzętach, ptakach, wszystkim co związane z naturą jest bardzo imponująca. Odnieśliśmy wrażenie, że nie ma pytania, na które nie znałby odpowiedzi. Cała wyprawa była doskonale zorganizowana, od początku do końca, o wszystko zadbano. Czuliśmy się bezpiecznie i komfortowo przez cały czas. Zobaczyliśmy mnóstwo cudownych i nieoczekiwanych rzeczy w parku Ruaha, po części ze względu na szczęście i okoliczności, ale w dużej mierze również dzięki temu, że wszystko odbywało się z uwzględnieniem naszych potrzeb i szacunkiem do nich. Mieliśmy tyle czasu, ile tylko potrzebowaliśmy i chcieliśmy na obserwowanie zwierząt, robienie zdjęć, odpoczynek itd. Zdecydowanie Breakdown Safaris to firma, którą możemy z czystym sumieniem gorąco polecić każdemu, dla kogo istotne są indywidualne i przyjacielskie podejście, profesjonalizm, świetnie zorganizowane safari, w trakcie którego nie trzeba się martwić o nic, a wyłącznie cieszyć i napawać obcowaniem z naturą i zwierzętami. Jesteśmy przekonani, że wrócimy do Tanzanii, do innych parków narodowych i na inne safari, ale z całą pewnością również zorganizowane przez Breakdown Safaris!
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Email Annie | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Tanzania through a child's eyes
If you are looking for an all-inclusive vacation in Tanzania, look no further than Breakdown Safaris. My seven-year old son and I spent seven days in Tanzania, three in the Selous Game Reserve, and three in Zanzibar and Chumbe Island, and we never had to worry about a thing while we were there. Every detail of our trip was taken care of by Kathy and Fanuel from helping us to decide on the right adventure to make all of my son's wishes come true, to helping us properly pack for the trip to even making us dinner reservations for New Year's Eve in Zanzibar.
While in the Selous, we stayed at the Selous River Camp. The accommodations were comfortable despite the heat. The staff at the camp was great. They made sure every need was met, and even provided a guide to walk us to and from our hut at night. Breakdown Safaris offered us three different ways to see the Selous, providing us with a driving, walking and boat safaris. We saw every animal we hoped to see, including a two different groups of elephants and lions. Fan is extremely knowledgeable of the reserve, and its wildlife. He provided us with a wealth of information about each of the animals and the local tribes.
At the end of the trip, we spent two full days on Chumbe Island off the coast of Zanzibar. This coral reef park is a place only found in your dreams. The water: several shades of aqua; the sand: white powder; the snorkeling: the best I have ever experienced. We had the opportunity to snorkel morning, noon and night, and we did just that. The amount of marine life within the coral reef is amazing. We saw everything from sea turtles, hundreds of angel and trigger fish, spotted sting rays to a black tip reef shark. My son's favorite were the sea cucumbers, oh and the hermit crabs which cover every inch of the island. Like the Selous River Camp, the staff and rangers at Chumbe are top notch. The rangers worked with Cooper on our first snorkeling trip and helped him to get completely comfortable maneuvering the waves. The food on the island is also amazing. Every lunch and dinner is complete with several selections of fresh seafood.
This vacation went well above and beyond all expectations my son and I had. If you want a vacation that is well planned, well organized and customized to your every need, then you need to book it through Breakdown Safaris!
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Email Donna | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent safari experience from beginning to end
We thoroughly enjoyed our tour, "5-Day Ruaha Immersion". Kathy and Fanuel replied immediately to our booking request, and were willing to customize our package to begin and end in Iringa instead of Dar Es Salaam, making it a three day tour. All communications with Breakdown Safaris were clear and timely. A few weeks before our safari, we received a helpful document with packing suggestions and Swahili phrases, as well as confirmation of our pickup location and time in Iringa.
Kathy and Fanuel picked us up right on time at our hotel, in a very nicely outfitted Toyota Land Cruiser, with a pop-top and plenty of room for ourselves and our voluminous luggage. Bottled water for the whole journey was picked up on the way to Ruaha National Park, a ~two hour drive from Iringa. After a brief stop at the park gates to obtain permits, we saw our first elephant within minutes. The abundance of wildlife in Ruaha was astounding, as was the scarcity of other visitors. We could drive for hours without seeing another vehicle! I imagine the Serengeti is far more crowded.
Rainy season had just started a few weeks earlier, so the park was a beautiful, green background for our photos. We saw elephants, impala, kudu, storks, crocs, hippos, giraffe, many species of birds, lions, zebras. mongeese, monkeys, baboons, lizards, warthogs, waterbuck, rock hyrax, and even a herd of Peace Corps Volunteers! The highlights were the pride of nine lions napping together near the road. A couple lionesses came up to the road to drink water and were a few feet from the Land Cruiser. We also saw a one-day old elephant baby who was very wobbly.
We immediately had a great rapport with Kathy, being a fellow Coloradoan, and Fanuel, whose knowledge of plants and animals was encyclopedic. He had many guidebooks and could quickly find the photo, description, names (common and Latin) for every species we saw. We were provided breakfast in the vehicle, so that we could get out in the park right at sunrise. Granola, milk, tea, and coffee – we had everything we needed. Lunch was served buffet style by the park staff, and dinner was at our lodging, from a menu. The New Bandas were family cottages with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room and kitchen - very roomy, clean, and comfortable. We had solar power and could charge our gear for part of the evening until the battery ran out.
All of our expectations were met or exceeded on this tour, and we had a fantastic three days. We highly recommend Breakdown Safaris for your visit to the Tanzania Southern Circuit.
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Email delaram | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
amazing experience with breakdown safari
it was one of the best trip Ive ever had with breakdown safari.
Thanks to dear kathy and Fan who were very well orgenized and creat special moments for us.we were visiting there for the fist time.
they both are so kind very friendly and take a very good care of us.
the camp where we were staying was so clean beyond my expectation.
we had two lovely days with kathy and fan in selous park and Im definitly going to plan another trip to tanzania and safari trip specialy with breakdown safari.
Absolutely wonderful
Breakdown do a fabulous job. Fan, the guide and driver, has more than average knowledge on many aspects of African wildlife. I am a biologist myself, and I really enjoyed discussing with him about the animals and the different strategies they have to exploit their environment. His wife, Kathy, is an enormously warm and interesting preson too. They organised our trip excellently. We saw all the must see things, and on top of that had a great time, with some little extra's, like a lunch on the shore of Lake Katavi sided by hundreds of hippo's. Just incredible.
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Email Richard O'Malley | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
It was a spectacular experience!
When my wife asked me to go to Africa I immediately said no. I was a very reluctant traveler to Africa because I worried about safety and health issues.
I have just returned and I have to admit how wrong I was and what a great trip I had. Understand that we went to Tanzania & Zanzibar. At no time did we venture near the problematic areas that have been in the news these past few years. The people in both countries were friendly and outgoing and extended every courtesy to us as well as all the other travelers we saw.
Over 90% of the success of our 3 week trip can be directly attributed to the folks at Breakdown Safari. They took care of us from the time we landed at the airport in Dar Es Salem to returning us to the airport 3 weeks later.
Right from the start Breakdown Safaris communicated with my wife about suggestions for where to go, what to do, what not to do etc. In the middle of our planning we had to do a major shift in plans. They accommodated us and re arranged everything so that our schedule would work out. They let us know who and how much we needed to tip. We ate dinner with them and had some great conversations with them about their business, about Africa
We went on two different safaris with them. They picked us up in a clean modern truck rigged for safari. The different “camps” we stayed in were neat, clean and superior to some of the hotels I have stayed in for business travel within the US. Any little problem that came up they immediately rectified the situation.
At each camp site the respective owners or managers were the first to welcome us and made every effort to take care of our needs. This was a reflection on the Breakdown Safari staff who had done their homework in selecting camps that were up to their own standards.
Breakdown Safaris is the way to go if you are going to go on safari in Africa. They can and will give you suggestions based on your input, plan and execute your safari vacation flawlessly.
If anyone has any questions about them please send me an email and I would be happy to answer any and all questions.
Richard O’Malley
[email protected]
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Email Sara | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
the highlight of our trip
Joseph and Fanuel proved to be wonderful guides. They were as excited about seeing the animals as we were and they were filled with knowledge about the animals. The pop-up top on the vehicle really enhanced the experience. We could stand up and view the animals as we pleased. The food at the accommodations was wonderful including the packed lunches. Truly a wonderfully educational and fun experience.
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Email Marianne Nilsen | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
3day Iringa/Selous safari
We travelled off season with a 5y old, and Kathy was great in adapting the trip to our need. It all worked out very well, and the safari camp was lovely. Great service and great people, can easily recommend Breakdown Safaris.
Email Magan (American Expat) | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
An Amazing Experience
Kathy & Fanuel were great guides. They provided an awesome cake for our daughter's birthday while on Safari in Ruaha. The vehicle with a pop-up roof is the best way to view the animals in the park. The car was nice. We have visited several parks in Tanzania while driving our own car, however, the experience they provided was so much better!! This was the closest experience we have had in Tanzania with the animals. Kathy & Fanuel were very friendly and knew a lot about the animals. Definitely will be recommending them to everyone.
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Email Hanna | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Recommended to small and big people!
Relaxed and nice atmosphere! Our trip was very successfull - even the smallest in our company were very well taught off and well taken cared off. Can recommend to you all!!