Kruger Park Safety put in perspective

On Friday, 22 May 2026 the bodies of two visitors were discovered in the Pafuri section of the Kruger National Park after a search operation was launched when the couple had not returned to the camp.  The incident has sent shockwaves through the tourism industry world-wide.  It is very      important not to add fuel to the fire to deter tourists to come to South    Africa. This is our economic life line and we need to protect it and protect its reputation. So let’s take a moment to put things in perspective:

It is the first incident of this nature in the Park’s 100 year history;

The Pafuri section is located in the far northern reaches of the Park, in an area bordering both Mozambique and Zimbabwe, over 7 hours’ drive from Skukuza and from the majority of the visitor activity and main camps.

The Kruger Park spans more than 2 million hectares (20 000 square km), the same size as Israel or Wales in the UK!

The Park receives over 2 million visitors per year and held a perfect safety record for 130 years, since before the proclamation in its current form.

The Parks shares a long stretch of international border (374 km) with Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

The vehicle in question did not exit through any of the gates of the Park or any of the border gates—this was confirmed using SANParks’  sophisticated camera systems with modern surveillance capability.

SANParks is deploying additional recourses to aid the investigation and to enhance surveillance and early warning technology systems.

Our Kruger National Park is a vast landscape and remains a very safe   area to visit, with effective security protocols in place.  The tourism circuits, camps, and gate networks used by international and domestic visitors   remain unaffected.

The Park is open for business and guests are arriving, travelling and    departing across the park without disruption.