Boiling pools at Hell's Gates

Tourists up close and personal with the boiling pools at Hell's Gates Tikitere."Hells Gate", its most commonly known name, was used following the visit to the geothermal reserve by noted Irish playwright, George Bernard Shaw in 1934 who likened the area to the comments that were made by his theologian colleagues back in England who were explaining to him that the result of the error of his ways as a practicing atheist would result in his "going to hell".What he saw at Tikitere moved him to believe that this would be the gateway to hell. His visit to Tikitere was well received by the local Māori owners of the land and as an honour to note the occasion of his visit, the owners decided that this would be the English name for the geothermal area. A destination spa operated at this site as early as 1871, using sulphurous waters from one of the hot pools and from Kakahi Falls.