On a mission to travel 6 hours to Palmwag to capture some marketing material and to do a site visit, we left Windhoek early in the morning. Two girls and one fully equipped Toyota Hilux from Namibia2Go.
We packed our car lightly, as the stay would be for three days only, and hit the road with the finest music playlist and a variety of sweets and sour worms. The morning drive to Otjiwarongo flew by, and after filling our tank in Outjo, we embraced the gravel road towards Khorixas, not without stopping next to the road to pick up a miniature version of a yellow watermelon. But more about that later. The stunning landscape changed within a blink and we could hardly catch up with the variety of powdery sand dunes, rocky hills with perfect square stones stacked on top of each other, and bright green bushes amongst dry, yellow grasslands. We jokingly picked cars from the groups of scrap metal dealerships next to the roads, characterizing the small villages, sometimes just a hand full of huts next to the roads.
We were greeted at the veterinary check point, a kilometer before the lodge, by a friendly officer, and at the lodge a group of friendly Palmwag Team members extended their welcomes, excited to meet new colleagues from Windhoek. They immediately said “Our colleagues from Head Office”. Funny how you know someone from communicating over email, but never actually seeing each other in person. Before unpacking, we went straight to the new pool bar restaurant and enjoyed a delicious burger with fries each, and of course an ice-cold rock shandy. The afternoon wind was unexpected but apparently common around this time of the year, and also welcoming after the lunch time heat.
The rooms surprised us positively. Not having seen them before, the green arches painted above the beds, with baskets and similar straw textures across the room and green and peach colours featuring all over, the rooms felt modern and cool, but also very homey and fitting for Palmwag at the same time. One thing that I noticed immediately was the scent in the rooms and reception area. Sweet Makalani and herbs, which I even noticed in the garden at reception. It made me feel like home instantly. To add excitement, we were told to move around the property with caution, as 5 lions from the conservancy decided to visit the lodge and were resting in the river bed, not far from the rooms. Jimbo, and a herd of elephants, also showed face the previous evening, and then walked past our rooms while we were sleeping, not making a single sound. Not noticing the thrill of a hyena visit in the laundry room at 4 in the morning, we listened to the story the next morning over scrambles eggs and bacon, and my favourite – Croissants with strawberry jam and blue cheese.
We spent the day taking some stunning photos of the rooms and the lodge surrounds, as well as the iconic palm trees at sunset, and had a delicious dinner served, made up of slow-cooked springbok leg, jasmin rice, and cauliflower gratin, and strawberry mousse for dessert. Safe to say, we slept like babies, and did not hear any elephant sleep-walkers.
I asked one the friendly receptionists to explain the watermelon to me that I found next to the room. She started laughing and said she is fetching a knife from the kitchen so that we can open it together. Not to be eaten by humans (some say it’s poisonous), I was surprised that it smelled sweet. Our guide then went on to tell us that these melons are loved and eaten by Oryx all year, and the seeds are found in their dungs. Come rainy season, hundreds of melons grow along the road, providing more food for springbok and warthogs. Elephants apparently avoid these strictly. Good thing I didn’t try to eat it myself.
Upon moving our Namibia2Go car, a group of maintenance and housekeeping staff pointed out that a wire is loose underneath the spare tyre. Without hesitation they went and fixed it, saying it's in their Gondwana DNA to always help travellers that come by the lodge. We set up our roof top tent on the stunning campsite number 13, and in hindsight I wish I would have filmed us. It was a struggle to set up the tent, one girl pulling, the other pushing on the other side. We enjoyed some white wine while the fire was being lit and the sun setting, so that we could take more photographs. We also made a turn at the more privately situated Camping2Go tents, which are a dream of a little get-away for two.
Dinner was amazing again, being oryx steak with potatoes and baby marrows, with banana cake for dessert. We went to bed early to start the road back to Windhoek in fresh spirits, but I didn’t want to leave the feeling of sitting on the deck and enjoying a glass of red wine to the sounds of frogs calling at the waterhole. With a heavy heart, we prepped our departure and ate breakfast for a last time, and then took one final group photo of all the lodge employees. We said our good-byes and made plans to stop by on our next trip to Omarunga Epupa-Falls Camp, further up north.
Palmwag, you pleasantly surprised us and definitely tickled the need for adventure in me again, especially the campsites.
Have you been to Palmwag before? Share your experience with us in the comments below.
Author: Elke Tietz