Tourists cut holiday short over Hluleka crime

Just days after a deadly attack at the Hluleka Nature Reserve, a group of tourists reported theft from their vehicles on Sunday.

The tourists cut their stay short because they did not feel safe at the Eastern Cape reserve.

The Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency (ECPTA) confirmed to TimesLIVE that two spare wheels were stolen from two vehicles.

"A group of tourists booked into Hluleka reserve from September 21-27. They checked in on the 21st and left on the 22nd.

"They informed reserve staff that they were cutting their stay short as they were not feeling safe after two spare wheels from two separate vehicles they were travelling in went missing on the morning of the 22nd," the agency's spokesperson, Oyanga Ngalika, said.

She said the reserve reported the case to the Ngqeleni police station.

"The agency has increased patrols of field rangers taking shifts and patrolling 24 hours in  Hluleka and other reserves," Ngalika said.

She said the registration forms showed the tourists were from Kokstad and Mount Frere.

Last Tuesday, a 33-year-old pregnant mother died and her husband was injured when they were stabbed while sleeping in a chalet in the reserve.

Karen and Matthew Turner and their 23-month-old son had booked into the reserve to attend a wedding in the province.

Matthew told family members they were attacked by two intruders.

Police spokesperson Capt Dineo Koena on Monday told TimesLIVE that no arrests had yet been made.