NT&T News Archive 2006
November 2006
Leopard sighting at the lodge waterhole. The waterhole in front of Palmwag Lodge is frequently visited by desert adapted elephant during the dry season. This is common enough for staff to continue about their business whilst the elephants drink. However last week, a surprise morning visitor to the waterhole brought the lodge to a complete halt. Whilst guests had breakfast on the deck, a young male leopard emerged from a thick reed bed to enjoy a leisurely drink before heading back up the Uniab and into the concession. Several leopard have been seen on game drives this winter but this was a first for the lodge waterhole.
October 2006
Canvas and Lodge Sleep-out adventure. Guests at Palmwag Lodge can now join an overnight trail into the concession. Heading out for an afternoon game drive and amazing sundowner at a view point over the Uniab riverbed. Supper is cooked on the open fire and enjoyed under flawless night skies. The usual chatter of the lodge supper table is replaced by the peaceful sounds of nocturnal Damaraland (hyenas/dassies/jackals excluded). The night is spent in comfortable dome-tents, with traditional bucket showers and an authentic African long drop. The following morning consists of a 2 hour walk back to the lodge where a warm shower and breakfast awaits the adventurer and the rest of the day can be spent relaxing in the comforts of Palmwag Lodge.
August 06
Concession wildlife highlights. Of particular interest this month has been the outstanding game viewing on lodge drives, especially predator sightings. In one week, guests saw leopard twice, had 12 cheetah sightings, spotted 17 elephant (3 sightings in the lodge itself) and saw 1 aardwolf. Happily these remarkable statistics are becoming normal in this part of Damaraland with general wildlife numbers also on the increase. The dry winter months traditionally attract the local elephant population to the spring in front of the lodge. Very few Namibian lodges offer the chance to see desert-adapted elephant from the pool.
Lodge renovations. This enduring refuge on the Uniab River has been providing travellers with the primary comforts of safari life for 20 years - ice cold sundowners, hot showers and cool comfortable rooms. Whilst this remains unchanged, the design and decoration at the lodge has evolved dramatically in the past twelve months. The rebuilding of the main restaurant is the latest improvement - furnished with an open fireplace for winter evenings, wide sofas and a new thatch roof to keep temperatures down in the summer months.
Palmwag remains one of the best lodges in Damaraland from which to track desert adapted elephant and black rhino, especially in the dry winter months when elephant frequent the Uniab river bed and lodge waterhole.