A long-held, shared dream was this safari of two German hunting friends from Central Hesse, Germany. Planned and prepared many months in advance, the experienced hunters traveled to us on the east coast of South Africa in November 25 to embark on their joint hunting adventure for Cape buffalo and plains game.
They planned to hunt with their own weapons, so we assisted with the import and customs regulations and organized safe transportation. The weather was kind to us, and over the 9 hunting days, we managed to achieve an impressive hunt – the two will have plenty to talk about for a long time and are already planning their next visit!
On the recommendation of friends who had already been on safari with us, Judith, Petra, and Uli came to us in August 25 for a 7-day safari targeting plains game. They wanted to hunt for a week and then get to know the country and its people.
Even during the sighting in at our shooting range, it was clear that amateurs were not in the picture – all three had excellent shooting results, so the loan guns were quickly chosen and we were ready to go.
Uli had requested species such as Blue Duiker, Cape Grey Rhebok, and Mountain Reedbuck, which required a division into two hunting groups. Petra and Judith stalked together with their hunting guide, while Uli went on safari alone with his professional hunter.
The hunt was extremely successful, and the days flew by before the three finally set out to explore the Garden Route. This certainly won’t be their last visit to NGIRI, that much is certain!
A joint hunting trip to the Cape East – with this idea, Ute and Lars came to me at the trade fair booth at “Hunting and Dog 2025.” Said and done, in July 2025 it was time, and the two planned with us a combination of safari on plains game and a trip along the Garden Route.
The beauty and diversity of South African nature quickly captivated them and sparked African hunting fever. We hunted together in the early morning hours and during late afternoon drives.
Both had good success, and our taxidermy team was pleased with the numerous impressive trophies, which we sent after proper preliminary preparation.
The days at NGIRI went by far too quickly in retrospect, but every single day was an adventure and an unforgettable experience. Thank you for your visit, you two! We look forward to seeing you again soon at the NGIRI Game Reserve!
Franz & Ralf visited us at NGIRI to hunt plains game. It was their first African hunt, and we had planned their safari months in advance, as they were really looking forward to it. Both of them traveled without their own weapons and used our high-quality equipment from Germany. We hunted plains game with our Blaser R 93 rifle using 30.06 and 9.3 x 62 calibers, as well as our Zeiss and Schmidt + Bender riflescopes.
While stalking, we spotted Impala, Blesbok, Eland, Plains Zebra, Kudu, Nyala, Sable Antelope, Cape Buffalo, Steenbok, Grey Duiker, Gemsbok, and Giraffe. Weather permitting, we also spotted warthogs.
Their bucket list included: Warthog, Blesbok, Impala, Plains Zebra, Kudu, Oryx, and Baboon.
Both proved to be good, reliable shooters and see yourself – happy faces all over:
For his 60th birthday, Willi had only one wish from his family and friends: a financial contribution for his lifetime buffalo, which he planned to hunt with his family in South Africa as part of a family hunting safari.
Said and done, the Schüller family set off for their hunting safari at Muller Hunting & Safaris base in the Eastern Cape of South Africa right after the Christmas holidays in December 2024, where they were planning on spending an exciting and eventful 10 days at NGIRI Wildgame Reserve.
It was supposed to be a buffalo stalk with the whole family – and that’s exactly what happened. A beautifull free roaming Dagga Boy (later measured at 43 inches) was shot after two days of stalking over hill and dale. Thanks to Willi’s good first shot placement, the kill shot wasn’t actually necessary – but it did bring immediate relief. Congratulations to this magnificent and exceptional trophy bull!
After this major goal was achieved, the other family members (all hunters, including the two daughters) also got their due, and Willi finally treated himself to a springbok.
We also visited the Addo Elephant Park together and paid a visit to our taxidermy in Somerset East. It was a pleasure having you with us, and we look forward to seeing you all again soon at NGIRI Wildgame Reserve!
Our first hunting trip for only female hunters in November/December 2024 was a great experience.
Our participants didn’t know each other beforehand (except for two who booked together) – but in the end, they formed new friendships that will perhaps last! Thank you all very much for working together, fostering a great sense of camaraderie, and making these days so special!
We’re already planning the next chapter – look out for it!
Anja Muller
Professional hunter/outfitter & owner of Muller Hunting & Safari SA
We visited Bernd and Anja at NGIRI last November and were looking forward to seeing them again. This time, too, the time passed far too quickly. We had chosen a night hunt for bush pig and steenbok. Eland, Oryx, and Nyala were also on the agenda. It was wonderful again, and we’re already planning our next hunting trip to NGIRI.
Klaus & Helene Sellinghof, November 24 (Germany)
In South Africa, as in other countries, it is mandatory that a professional hunter must be present during trophy hunting. Of course, we also hunt on NGIRI for conservation or to provide our employees with meat – but we do not need our professional hunter training for that purpose. As land owner you are allowed to hunt only with a hunting licence on your own property.
Many people keep asking us what it actually needs to become a PH in South Africa? Basically, anyone who has the necessary knowledge and skills could register for a course and take the exam. However, you can only get a license as a professional hunter if you either have the South African citizenship or a permanent residency permit together with a work permit. The training itself is comparable to that of a professional hunter in Germany, but requires practical experience in the areas of tracking, wildlife science, fauna, game processing and weapon handling.
Training is provided in the following fields: hunting guidance, legal knowledge/hunting law, first aid in the bush, bore sighting, tracking, skinning and guest care. The last point in particular is crucial, because the guest is in our hands and we have two tasks to fulfill: to give them an unforgettable time and, above all, to ensure their safety. Another very important point is weapon handling. Since hunting is usually done while stalking, it is the job of the professional hunter to prepare the hunting guest for this type of hunting, including by zeroing in with the shooting stick, and to point out the importance of precise shot placement. When dangerous game takes the shot, the hits must be accurate. To be prepared for that, in one part of the PH shooting exams, a 15×15 centimeter moving target must be shot and hit three times within 30 seconds from the following distances: 30, 20 and 10 meters. Other parts of the exam are about precise sheet placement at 100 m, 200 m and 300 m. The candidate must adjust the optics themselves so that the grouping of the exam result is accurate – at all 3 distances.
A lot of it revolves around game, of course. The approach and behavior of the game are taught, as well as it´s anatomy – in order to clearly identify if you have a trophy animal in front of you. This can be difficult, especially when it comes to addressing age or gender. With springbok, for example, the females also have horns, which makes it difficult to distinguish them in large herds. But these are all things that you have to master in order to do justice to the game on the one hand, but also to do a good job in guiding your hunting clients to a successfull trophy hunt. And hunting at NGIRI Wildlife Reserve rests on these two pillars.
For me, this meant that although I had official permission to lead hunts after passing the Professional Hunter exam, my real learning time only began after that. I kept going out, out and out again to learn in the bush and from the native trackers & skinners. You also have to learn how to set up a hide, how to stalk effectively, how to read tracks and much more and, above all, how to master it. What many people don’t know is that shot is also on the curriculum, as is shooting with a rear sight and front sight, because if you can’t use the scope, you have to be able to do it. At the end of the training there is a test that is quite challenging. You have to complete a variety of tasks within a strict time limit, such as leading a guest to a strong kudu bull within shooting distance, confirming certain game, recognizing tracks, skilfully knocking the killed game out of the cover and salting it thoroughly, and much more. But you are all the prouder when you are one of the professional hunters in South Africa. For me as a German and also a hunter, it was a very special experience that I would not want to miss. Since then, I can say with a clear conscience from my own experience: If you have a South African professional hunter at your side, you can feel that you are in good hands.
Following the recommendation of hunting friends, we contacted Anja to learn more about her private hunting in South Africa. Anja invited us to visit her booth at the Jagd & Hund trade fair in 2023, and we liked her idea of sustainable, ethical hunting in South Africa so much that we decided to go for it and booked a family safari on NGIRI for September 2024.
We were not disappointed – our week on NGIRI was an adventure just the way we wanted it. An enormous game population with exceptional diversity met excellent cuisine and wonderful hospitality. The hunting success was also impressive, and we ended up with a massive lynx (hunted with a pack of dogs), an abnormal nyala bull, a bushbuck, and a steenbok. The trip concluded with a deep-sea fishing trip in Port Elizabeth before we unfortunately had to head home.
Thanks to Anja and her team for a fantastic time and wonderful hospitality; we felt completely at home!
Thorsten, Denis, and Franz Klar (Germany), September 2024
Travel report on the hunt on NGIRI by MHP and XL from Switzerland, Aug 24
We wanted to hunt in Africa for the first time after having hunted abroad in Kazakhstan, Canada and some European countries several times.
After carefully examining the offers, we decided on Muller Hunting & Safari because we were convinced by the conversation with Anja Muller (owner, outfitter and professional hunter herself) beforehand.
Thanks to Anja’s help, importing the weapons we had brought with us (caliber .458 and .375 H & H Mag, including ammunition) via Johannesburg was no problem. Anja and her PH Philip were already waiting for us at Port Elizabeth. The drive to the lodge was very entertaining and only took about 90 minutes. When we got there, we were not disappointed – on the contrary, our expectations were completely exceeded.
The catering, the accommodation at the 5-star NGIRI lodge with its modern and comfortably furnished chalets with African charm, the professional hunting guidance and individual support (we had the lodge and the 5,000 hectare hunting area all for ourselves!) were excellent!
Our wishes were also fully met with regard to everything. Following Anja’s suggestion, we booked 11 hunting days and enjoyed every single one – in the end, the days just flew by and we didn’t want to go back to Switzerland!
The type of hunting (walk & stalk) with the motivated and competent trackers was a joy and we learned a lot. After the animals had been killed, the skinners also supervised the beating out of the cover, salting and preparation for handover to the local taxidermist in an extremely professional manner.
All in all, a great location with first-class organization and very personal, individual hunting support. Nothing is left to be desired here.
Thanks to Anja, Philip, Clemens and all other team members who made our stay unforgettable!
