We arrived in Rotorua with a coupon to Hell's Gate burning holes in our pockets. (It was buy one get one, so entrance for the two of us was $35--a good thing since we might have passed it up at a higher price.) I've only ever visited one other entrance to Hell (what's up Rodin!) and never a geothermal park, so for me this was a fresh experience. It was a buffet of boiling, churning, steaming, spitting, gurgling sounds garnished with the ambient smell of sulphur. Josh and I had a difference of opinion on which kind of egg the air smelled most like; he says rotten, I say deviled! This is hell though, so I think it's pretty clear who really hit the mark here. It's deceptively peaceful, full of quiet bubbling and floating mist; you could almost forget the latent power literally raging right beneath your feet. Photos didn't feel like an adequate way to illustrate the experience, so I took a lot of little videos. Enjoy a few seconds of geothermal meditation. Ooh! Ahh! |
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Because I'm neurotic I was paranoid that the mud volcano would erupt while I was filming it and I'd wind up joining the ranks of tourists who get themselves killed snuggling wild lion cubs or dancing barefoot through nests of water moccasins. Thankfully, it's much harder to provoke a volcano.
In addition to just being cool, Hell's Gate has a special importance for its local tribe, which includes in its history the use of various pools for cooking, medicinal bathing, and--for one Maori princess--washing away the shame of an abusive relationship in the most dramatic and gruesome way possible: boiling herself to death.
I know.
If, like me, you've spent time dwelling on the reality that entails, you'll need some distraction. So let's just take it back to the profound awesomeness of nature. Remember there's a whole planet churning underneath your feet. And if that doesn't work, this should help.
I know.
If, like me, you've spent time dwelling on the reality that entails, you'll need some distraction. So let's just take it back to the profound awesomeness of nature. Remember there's a whole planet churning underneath your feet. And if that doesn't work, this should help.