Sunday the 15th of September 2019 (continued)The last bit of the ride up to Palmwag went quickly. It feels good to be back on the dirt highway after quite an eventful day of riding.
Just before Palmwag I mention to HSK, if the guard at the veterinary fence asks him if he has any red meat, don't dare tell him about our droëwors

There is an interesting article on the Vetrinary fences of Namibia and Botswana here:
https://blog.tracks4africa.co.za/veterinary-fences-in-namibia-and-botswana/The guard at the vet fence lets us off with no more than a quick nod of approval. We stop and get fuel at the Palmwag fuel station. The attendant tells us it is very busy at the lodge though. We are only camping, so we should be alright I guess?
We get to the Palmwag Lodge gate and the guy tells us they are full. Completely over capacity.
My heart sinks in my stomach, it feels like it's Friday the 13th again...
No way... We didn't think to book accommodation, as this was all last minute and we weren't certain how our progress would be. Shit... We tell the guy we want to eat at the restaurant anyway, and we'll hear from management if they can't squeeze us in somewhere.
We park in front of camping reception and the booking attendant tells us the same thing, no space. Mmmmm....

Bummed, we make our way to the restaurant and immediately order some rock shandy's. The drinks are so cold, nice we really needed this!
The head waiter, who is also part of management overhears our conversation. He says he'll see if he can get permission for us to stay somewhere from top management, but he can't promise anything.

I am hot, red, sweaty, dusty, dirty and on top of that I'm starting to get a bit tired. I was really hoping I could have been through the shower already...
The waiter comes back. Management said no... They are indeed completely over capacity, even their overflow camping is full. He can however call and book us a campsite at another place, Khowarib Lodge. There is nothing else nearby, except a fancy lodge which is way out of our price range.
This is a bit of a low blow. Khowarib Lodge is 80km away. It is already 4pm. We haven't eaten anything but a energy bar today. Also, going to Khowarib Lodge means we will miss tomorrows route, the Khowarib Schlucht loop we have been meaning to do on our way to Opuwo. The turn off for the loop we wanted to ride is only about 40km away from Palmwag. We consider wild camping and still riding our route as intended, but replenishing all our water (we drank nearly 6 liters each today) would be a hassle if we are out in the sticks.

We bite the bullet and just book the camping at Khowarib Lodge. We have ordered some food as we weren't sure if any would be available later on. After quickly wolfing down our burgers, we get back on our bikes, grit our teeth together, and do the 80km to Khowarib.
It is just after 6pm when we finally arrive at our destination after a hell of a long day and we are all too happy to see it is actually a lovely place!
We get ourselves booked in and go put up our tent, take a shower and all those lovely things we've been looking forward to all day.

A tidy camp site with electricity, clean ablutions and a hot shower. Wonderful!

We take a walk up the lit path to the bar to have more rock shandy's. What an adventure it has been, and it is only our first day. (photo borrowed from Khowarib website).