Kiwi couple Expedition Earth reach unreal 'Gates of Hell', Ethiopia

The last time we heard from the Expedition Earth they had just passed the half-way mark on an epic journey around the world.

By February Kiwi couple Topher and Bridget, in their trusty jeep "Gunther", had driven from the top of Alaska down to the Tierra Del Fuego at the bottom of Argentina.

Travelling with a car-full of film equipment, the couple have been sharing videos of some of the most spectacular, colourful landscapes on the planet.

Passing through the pink lakes of the Yucatan and the mirrored Bolivian salt flats, the couple's photos have been published by the National Geographic highlighting some of the most amazing and fragile environments you might never have known existed.

Landscapes you might not have known are at risk from environmental factors.

However, three months ago they reached one of the most spectacular places yet -
in the middle of the African continent, in one of the most uninhabitable places on the planet.

Welcome to Hell: The green and yellow sulphur pools of the depression. Photo / Supplied

The "Gates of Hell" in Ethiopia might as well be an alien world. Bright yellow and full of crystal pools of sulphurous acids – it's incredibly difficult and dangerous to get to.

"The Danakil Depression wasn't the only 'Gates of Hell' we encountered in Africa. Namibia's Skeleton Coast was also once referred to by Portuguese sailors as 'The Gateway to Hell' and also known as 'The Land God made in Anger'," Topher told the Herald.

"Funnily enough it was these two regions that have been the biggest highlights of the African leg."

Not only are the pools full of volcanic, boiling acid and precious little water – the route into the Danakil Depression is patrolled by armed bandits who prey on road traffic through the Horn of Africa.

For this part of the journey Topher and Bridget were accompanied by security.

The couple said that lakes of sulphuric acid was only half the danger.

"Due to Eritrean bandits, an escort armed with an AK47 is a legal requirement when entering the Afar region. While I was photographing Bridget in a salt pool in the middle of the Danakil desert, our guide and escort had a disagreement in the Jeep which resulted in a knife being pulled," said Topher.

Due to the 45C heat, isolation and Ramadan fasting tempers were fraught. "With nobody for hundreds of miles, it was an uncomfortable situation to be in."

Barefoot: The couple braved the acidic pools to capture stunning shots. Photo / supplied

The Danakil Depression is 130 metres below sea level at the meeting of tectonic plates in East Africa. Plumes of pungent and clearly volcanic steam can be seen erupting from the pools.

The couple described the air being acrid and hard to breathe, but totally worth the risk.

So were the photos and videos they shared of the "alien-like" landscape.

From the 'Gates of Hell' to heavenly waters. Photo / Supplied

Not far from the deadly, primordial acid lakes the couple found a beautiful isolated pool in the salt flats.

This solitary pool of water in the middle of the Danakil depression was too tempting not to 'risk a dip'.

Cautiously, Bridget can be seen swimming in one of their videos. A surreal image that has been liked 42000 times on the couple's Instagram account, @expeditionearth.live.

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ROUTE MAP UPDATE Over the past four months we have covered the southern and eastern regions of sub Saharan Africa. We feel lucky that our route to date has come smoothly with no major issues. We now continue north into Ethiopia which has recently been experiencing tribal conflicts, making it unpredictable and unsafe to drive in certain areas. With some of the most fascinating landscapes on the planet, we will be giving Ethiopia our full attention. This week, the Sudan military took control of the streets in Khartoum due to political unrest. This volatile situation could result in another border closure which will add huge complications to the journey ahead. We will be taking a very direct route through Sudan, unfortunately spending as little time in the country as possible. As we are unmarried, our visas into Saudi Arabia have been denied. Due to terrorism in the Sinai peninsula, the military have placed restrictions on 4x4 access, making it impossible to cross into Israel. The only option from here is a direct route to Alexandria before shipping Gunther to Turkey. We are taking extra precautions during the next section of the journey and very excited for the challenges and change of terrain, which will see us visit some of the most inhospitable environments on the planet. We are on schedule to reach Lapland, Finland by the end of 2019 before beginning leg 3 of Expedition Earth in 2020.

A post shared by EXPEDITION EARTH (@expeditionearth.live) on Jun 9, 2019 at 11:56am PDT

The couple have since left Africa and arrived in Europe.

Driving from Geneva to Paris yesterday, sulphuric acid and AK-brandishing bandits are now far from mind.

They have extended their original goal to reach the Yamal peninsula of Northern Russia's Arctic Circle by the end of the year.

They have had to get a move-on for fear of driving over softening snow and ice. Large tracts of their journey involves driving up a frozen river which has no guarantee of staying frozen in the warming region. "Past January, this would be a problem," says Topher.

From there they will continue their journey from the Arctic Circle, back to New Zealand in 2020.