Hell’s Gate is Rotorua’s most active geothermal reserve. It is a Taonga (treasure) of Ngati Rangiteaorere (the local Maori people).
Hell’s Gate is set in 50 acres with a large variety of geothermal features.
You can walk past steaming fumaroles and pools of boiling mud. There are remarkable formations, colors, “land coral”, and even the largest hot waterfalls in the southern hemisphere.
You’ll also see the pool where the Maori Princess Hurutini lost her life to save her people.
Hell’s Gate was so named by playwright George Bernard Shaw on his visit there.
He also named many of the pools inside the park.
I enjoyed our few hours walking around Hell’s Gate Thermal Park.
But, if we’d have had to pay the $30 each entrance fee (instead of having it included in our Maori experience), I don’t think it would have been worth it.
Hell’s Gate is a very interesting area and a fun walk, but not one worth $30 per person in my opinion.
Thanks for sharing! I agree… not worth $30. 🙂 How hot was the water?
At all of Hell’s Gate, it varies… the hot springs you can get in are 90-108 Fahrenheit. The pools you see in the videos and in the park you walk through are anywhere from 125-300 degrees fahrenheit. One of the pools is boiling 365/24/7. Pretty crazy.