Entrance to Hell's Gates Tikitere

Tikitere, the Māori name for the area is derived from the tragic action of a Māori princess, Hurutini, the young wife of an abusive and shameful chief, who threw herself into the boiling hot pool that bears her name today. Upon finding her daughter's body floating in the hot pool, Hurutini's mother cried out a sad lament "Aue teri nei tiki" ("here lies my precious one"), which was shortened to Tikitere and became the name for the thermal reserve and the surrounding area.