Airstrips in Nyerere National park

Airstrips in Nyerere National park

Airstrips in Nyerere National park : Nyerere national park formerly known as the northern part of Selous Game Reserve is one the great safari destinations in Tanzania and the largest national park in the country, at the total area of 30,893 square kilometers. Nyerere national park is recognized as one of the largest wildlife sanctuaries and national parks in the world, Nyerere covers a big part of Liwale District in Western Lindi Region and big part of South Eastern Morongoro Region.

Nyerere national park is a delight to many travelers visiting purposely for a safari adventure, the park can be accessed using several means of transport including air means of transport.

Nyerere national park is a vast and remote wilderness area with flying the best way to get their faster and conveniently, the park is served by a network of airstrips – all in weather gravel state. There are daily scheduled flights from Dar es Salaam or Arusha to Nyerere national park, these flights are operated by several airlines that serve this route and the include

• Regional Air
• Coastal Aviation
• Safari Air Link
• Auric Air.

Note

The nearest international airport to Nyerere national park is Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam, from this airport it is a flight of one hour to Dar es Salaam.

As a traveler planning a Tanzania safari to Nyerere national park and flying is your mode of transport, then it is important to know which airstrip you should use in Nyerere national park before booking your flight as there are many airstrips. It is advisable to fly to the airstrip nearest to your accommodation to avoid unnecessarily long transfers which happen to be expensive.

Most commonly used airstrips in Nyerere national park include

• Mtemere airstrip
• Matambwe airstrip
• Sumbazi airstrip
• Kiba airstrip
• Beho beho airstrip
• Siwandu airstrip
• Siwandu Airstrip
• Steigler’s Gorge Airstrip

Airstrips in Nyerere National Park are as explained below

 Mtemere Airstrip

Mtemere Airstrip is the most frequently used airstrip in Nyerere national park serving guests visiting both Selous Game reserve and Nyerere national park both found in Southern Tanzania.

The geographical coordinates of Mtemere Airstrip are 07 45 01S 038 12 47E.

Matambwe Airstrip

Matambwe Airstrip also known by its IATA Code SE3 is a regional airport located in the Selous Region in the Southern Circuit part of Tanzania, the airstrip serves tourists visiting both Selous Game Reserve and Nyerere national park.

Sumbazi Airstrip

The Sumbazi Airstrip is situated within the Selous Game Reserve, this airstrip serves camps and lodges situated inside Selous national reserve and Nyerere national park such as The Retreat Selous Camp.

Sumbazi airstrip is served by several scheduled flights from Arusha, Zanzibar, Dar es Salaam and Ruaha.

Kiba Airstrip

Kiba Airstrip also known as Kiba Airport and known by its IATA Code SE2, is a regional airport located in the Selous Region in the Southern Circuit part of Tanzania. The airstrip serves camps and lodges located inside Selous Reserve and Nyerere national park and these include Kiba Point Selous Camp and Sand River Camp.

There are daily flights from Dar es Salaam, Ruaha, Zanzibar and Northern Tanzania to Kiba Airstrip.

Beho Beho Airstrip

Beho Beho Airstrip is located inside Selous Game Reserve, this airstrip mainly serves guests staying at Beho Beho Camo. The airstrip’s coordinates are S 07 40 25.9 E 037 55 14.1.

Siwandu Airstrip

Siwandu Airstrip is located on the shores of Lake Nzerakera situated in the northern section of the Nyerere national park – formerly known as the Selous Game Reserve in Southern Tanzania.

GPS Coordinates of Siwandu Airstrip are 7° 41 ’27 ” S – 38 ° 08 ’21 ” E. Rwy 1200m, elev SL, 18/36.

This airstrip mainly serves clients staying at Siwandu Main Camp.

Stiegler’s Gorge Airstrip

Stiegler’s Gorge Airstrip is a regional airport located in the Selous Region in the Southern Circuit part of Tanzania, this airstrip is also known by its IATA Code STG.

The airstrip mainly serves clients staying at Steigler’s Gorge Camp, Selous Serena Camp and Serena Mivumo River Lodge.

The only international airport located near Nyerere national park is Julius Nyerere International Airport – Dar Es Salaam with Code DAR.

Julius Nyerere International Airport (DAR) is an international airport of Dar es Salaam – the largest city in Tanzania, the airport is located approximately 12 kilometers southwest of the city centre.

The airport offers flights to several destinations in Africa, Europe and the Middle East, the airport also has a terminal specially set aside for all the domestic and regional flights. This airport has a capacity of handling 1.5 million passengers.

Schedule Of Flights to Nyerere national park airstrips

All the main airlines offering flights to Nyerere national park typically have morning and afternoon flight with the same aircraft turning back to Dar es Salaam after every flights.

The flight time to Nyerere airstrips is approximately 1 hour, though the actual time depends on how many stops – also known as hops the flight will make as they land to drop or pick up passengers from various airstrips in the reserve.

Most flights  limit stops to the fewest possible so that the timing of an hour to Nyerere national park is practically and fairly accurate. Below is the schedule for  daily flights to Nyerere national park

Seasons in Nyerere national park

 High Season: 16 December – 31 March & 1 July – 31 Octomber

Low Season: 1 April – 30 June & 1 November – 15 December

Note: during the peak season, there are additional flights to accommodate the huge number of flights, the flights are usually midday flights.

When booking a flight in the high season, early booking is recommended.