Ice Cavern

Before we head to the next temple we need to head up to Zora's Domain and get a few things up there.  First thing one might notice about Zora's Domain is that the entire area is frozen beneath ice.  One of the saddest things in the Ocarina of Time story, the Zora (much like the Gorons) opposed Ganondorf when he ascended to power.  With the Gorons, he made preparations to feed them to the sinister fire dragon Volvalgia; a plot which we thwarted in the Fire Temple.  Here, we find the entire Zora race is encased in ice, with King Zora trapped in some kind of magical ice.  Apparently Ganondorf wasn't so thrilled by their resistance.  But luckily for us, this maneuver allows us to get into the caverns behind Jabu-Jabu's fountain.  (By the way...where IS Jabu-Jabu?  This is a question the game never directly answers...has he fallen victim to Ganondorf's evil designs, much as the Deku Tree did?)

The prize inside (hehe) are the Iron Boots.  These boots help you in many ways, and are the first pair of footwear you get that you didn't come with.  They let you sink in water and make you heavy, which will become essential for a few puzzles later on in the game (these boots really are only necessary in the Water and Shadow Temples and Ganon's Tower, but that's good enough for me!)

So now that we have some more goodies (a few heart pieces on the way, of course) let's head out for the Water Temple in Lake Hylia!  If Ganondorf hadn't frozen Zora's Domain, it'd be a lot easier, but we have to travel clear across the entire continent...