Gross Barmen Namibia Hot Springs


Gross Barmen Namibia Hot Springs and Resort The Herero call it Otjikango the place of the big spring. Soak and sooth yourself.

If you're feeling a bit travel weary after all of your touring around Namibia then Gross Barmen is the place to go to. There's a good selection of accommodation from VIP bungalows to a well appointed camping site with good facilities. The bar / restaurant prices are reasonable and there's a curio shop and children's play area. Getting There: As you drive on the B2 By-Pass road for Okahandja you can't miss the sign to Gross Barmen. It's then a further 25km drive on a good tarred road to the resort. Temperatures for the outdoor pool are usually maintained between 28-32c. There is a large covered area for sitting and relaxing. Beware of getting sun-burned. The water is so inviting
that one tends to float around and stay in a bit too long. You would be wise to time your stay in the sun at Gross Barmen the sun reflects from the water and also the sand and stone surrounding compounding the rays.	Otjozondjupa Region
	22º10'S - 16º80'E

Gross Barmen children's play pool

Children's pool

The enthusiast bather may be interested to know that Gross Barmen is classified as being a 'Very Hot Spring'. The waters bubble up from a depth of 2500 meters having an exit temperature of about 65 c. The smell of sulphur is due to the dissolved hydrogen sulphide gas in the water. The relative high mineral content and high temperature of the spring is of therapeutic value. Beside sodium the water also contains concentrations of Potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulphate, chloride, carbonate and fluorite and other dissolved minerals.

The water temperature is usually maintained between 38 - 42 c. This is where you can boil yourself in the therapeutic waters until you're as pink as a lobster. The Gross Barmen thermal pool is equipped with hydro jets, so you can even treat yourself to a hot water massage. When you feel you're cooked enough you can creep ashore and have a nice quiet sleep on one of the comfortable beds that are spaced around the pool.

Gross Barmen Police Station photo taken 1904

Police Station 1904

Gross Barmen Hot Springs photo taken 1904

Gross Barmen hot springs 1904

The thermal pool

Gross Barmen (Otjikango - the place of the big spring) was where the first Rhenish Mission Station to the Herero was established in late 1844 by Carl Hugo Hahn and Franz Heinrich Kleinschmidt.

Sir Francis Galton while exploring Namibia in 1851 stayed over with the with Hahn for a short time, and it was here that he wrote his account of the happenings of 23 August 1851 (see Moordkoppie). The Mission at Gross Barmen closed in 1904 owing to the Herero Uprising. The modern recreation complex was built in 1977.

The facilities at Gross Barmen are managed and operated by Namibia Wildlife Resorts