Niagara Falls

It is a one and half hour drive from Toronto to Niagara and we left early on a tour in order to fit in as much as possible. The weather forecast was not favourable , but as we were to get drenched anyway it scarcely seemed to matter! You pass through the residential and industrial hinterland of Greater Toronto before hitting more green and pleasant lands. As you move closer to Niagara, agriculture comes to the fore. Market garden crops are prevalent, orchards of fruit trees and eventually mile upon mile of vineyards. For those of you who were not aware, the Niagara area has become a huge wine producing region. The soils here are very fertile due to the moraines left behind following glaciation. This part of the country was heavily glaciated some 23,000 years ago, during the last Ice Age. The Wisconsin Ice Sheet covered the area to the tune of several hundred meters thick and when the ice finally retreated huge depressions had been gouged in the bedrock that the meltwaters formed into the Great Lakes. The Niagara river resulted from more glacial meltwater running over the Niagara Escarpment. It was the relentless flow of this water that formed the iconic Niagara Falls and over the last 12,500 years the erosive force of the water has moved the line of the Falls to where it stands today.
Like many wonders of the world the Falls seem to creep up on you until you suddenly turn a corner and there they are! You are confronted with this immense volume of water cascading over the escarpment and it is truly an awe inspiring moment. The water and the resulting spray dominate wherever you look. The next move is to join the line for the trip on the Maid of the Mists in order to get up close and personal with the wall of water! You are kindly given a rather insubstantial poncho to supposedly protect you from getting wet. I can tell you it doesn’t work! As we set off the American Falls face us. A smaller straight line of water that sits on American soil; spectacular nonetheless. Moving down river we approach the massive horseshoe curve of the larger Canadian Falls. The noise is
deafening and you are suddenly drenched from all directions, plus the fact that at this point the heavens opened! Visibility is actually very poor and all you can see is this wall of water in front of you. The top and bottom are hidden in the mists and you are certainly aware of the power of nature and how small a human is in comparison. We staggered off the boat wet in places I would not care to mention and spent lunch steaming gently and gradually drying out. For ladies of mature years, this encounter does not leave one looking one’s best for the rest of the day! Thank God I knew no one!!
The immediate area around the Falls are rather tacky and not to be recommended, but as we moved further down the river bank, the gardens and parkland are indeed beautiful and more complimentary to a force of natural wonder. We stopped at the Table Rock to view closely the rapids approaching the Horseshoe Falls and to watch the water as it boils and cascades it’s way towards its doom. This was the highlight for me. The scene was mesmerising and the power of the water was brought home even more vividly. Swifts flew impossibly close to the maelstrom catching insects and a black and red cardinal sat displaying his plumage on a seemingly precarious branch over the water. The wildlife take it all in their stride. Further down the gorge we stopped to watch a deadly series of whirlpools forming continuously where the fast flowing river turns a corner. All around the flora is lush and green reflecting the humidity that results from the Falls in the shadow of the Niagara escarpment and I’m sure under a blue sky and sunshine it would look even better!
Our final call was to the picturesque town of Niagara on the Lake. Some serious real estate is on display and lots of small interesting shops the like of which have disappeared in most places. The ice cream parlour was to die for and obviously had to be sampled before the return journey to Toronto. A fascinating long awaited day.Read more