There’s a spot in the far north of Kruger where you can look towards two other countries without leaving South Africa.
Crooks Corner, Pafuri Area, Kruger NP, Limpopo / Bernard DUPONT / Wikimedia Commons
It’s where the Luvuvhu flows into the Limpopo, with Zimbabwe and Mozambique just across the water. If you’re wondering how a place with a view like that ended up with a name like Crooks Corner, it helps to think about who used to come here.
How Crooks Corner got its name
In the early 1900s, ivory poachers, gunrunners and other people on the run used this remote meeting point as a refuge. Back then, the three territories were the Transvaal, Southern Rhodesia and Portuguese East Africa. The way the story goes, if the authorities came looking for you from one side, you could slip across into another territory.
Then there’s the tale about the boundary beacon. According to local lore, if you ran out of places to go, you could climb onto it and claim to be beyond the reach of any one territory’s law. It’s easy to see why that version gets retold. Look out over the two rivers today and you can see just how close those borders come together.
The stories about fugitives explain the name, but people had called Pafuri home for generations. The Makuleke community was forcibly removed by the apartheid government in 1969, and part of their land was incorporated into Kruger. In 1998, the Land Claims Court ordered that land be returned to the community. Today, the Makuleke Communal Property Association and SANParks jointly oversee the Makuleke Contractual National Park.
Take your time on the drive through Pafuri
It’s worth setting aside a morning for Crooks Corner, because there’s plenty to see before you reach the lookout. The floodplains around the confluence are part of the Makuleke Wetlands, recognised internationally under the Ramsar Convention. As you drive through Pafuri, look for stands of fever trees, palms along the floodplain and baobabs up on the ridges.
If Pafuri Picnic Site is open, pack breakfast and have your binoculars handy when you stop. The trees around the picnic site are a good place to look for trumpeter hornbills and purple-crested turacos. Closer to the lookout, keep an eye out for white-fronted bee-eaters, and have a look through the palms for lemon-breasted canaries.
Planning your visit
For a day visit, you can enter Kruger at Pafuri Gate. If you’re staying in the park, Punda Maria Rest Camp is a good base for an early start. The usual self-drive route to the lookout follows the S63. The lookout is on the South African side, and the formal Pafuri border post into Mozambique is separate from the park entrance.
The January 2026 floods affected parts of the S63, so check with SANParks before you go. Ask which section to take to Crooks Corner, whether the picnic site is open and what time you need to be back at your gate.
Once you get to the lookout, take a minute to work out which bank belongs to which country. Then put the map away for a bit and see what’s happening along the water. You might come for the story behind the name and find that the quiet time by the river is what you remember most.
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