I’ve written about Victoria Falls recently, so Niagara is logically the next step. These two waterfalls are both great experiences, although each has its own distinctive vibe.
As for Niagara, to be honest, I expected to hate it. I tend to get rather cutting and annoyed in excessively touristy places, making life a bit miserable for whoever is travelling with me. I gave my friend fair warning of this but fortunately she had visited before, so there was no danger of my spoiling it for her. This, and the fact that Niagara was so near (we had been visiting Toronto), decided me to grin and bear it. Even if it was marred by excessive tourism, I knew it was a must-do experience.

When we got there though, there were fewer people around than I had expected – this was, the bus driver explained, a result of the Canadian dollar’s rise against the American dollar. Where in the past Americans had rushed over the border for cheap and glitzy experiences, they now found that their money wasn’t going as far as they hoped and were staying away. Bad news for Niagara Falls, good news for me as I hadn’t been looking forward to being jostled by Americans (we were arriving on the 4th of July). Still there was a lot of the paraphernalia of tourism around, casinos, flashy hotels, even a ferris wheel.

My first view of the Falls was out of the Minolta Tower’s viewing deck, just as it was beginning to get dark: even then, to my surprise, it turned out to be a breath-taking sight. I had, for some reason, expected one single falls, but in fact, as I ought to have known, there were two: the smaller American falls and the more spectacular Horse-shoe Falls. Spray rose from the horse-shoe falls like smoke, partly obscuring its shape, and the plummeting water was very light and clear, like green glass. I couldn’t fail to admire the natural beauty of this scene.

That evening we had dinner in one of the hotels near the falls which had a viewing balcony and we watched as the illuminations were turned on at the falls. These illuminations weren’t mere spotlights, instead soft coloured lights moved over the water, creating a very distinctive and unusual effect. The town by contrast was lit up with less subtle neon. Not having the money or the inclination to go gambling we sat chatting in the park and waited for the 4th of July fireworks. Slowly the area around us began to fill up with people: at nine the fireworks began. The display was very beautiful and well-planned, every shape and colour seeming to go together effortlessly.

The next morning, just to disappoint us, it was raining heavily so we postponed our plans to go on the Maid of the Mist and wandered around the (very tacky) shops for a while. Just before we died of boredom however the rain died away and slowly the sun began to come out. We rushed to get a view of the Falls with the sun on it – in the sunshine the outlook was absolutely gorgeous, with rainbows shining through the mist. I was as excited as a child when we eventually boarded the Maid of the Mist for a trip right up to the falls and completely unaware that my standard issue blue plastic mack was far from fashionable! Even the dead fish we spotted as we took our places for photos hardly dented our enthusiasm! The trip was something really special, the proximity to the majestic horse shoe falls, even if absolutely drenching, was unmissable. The sound of the water, a soft sound but at the same time really loud, was what really impressed me, this close you could hear nothing else. The rainbow was so close I felt as though I could almost touch it. I realised then that I had been converted: I was now a ‘Falls fan’. We had viewed it from every angle by the time we headed back to our hotel that evening.

This trip to Niagara made a deep impression on me. Although the atmosphere of the town is certainly as tacky as I thought it would be, this didn’t bother me: I realised that these were just the superficial aspects of the trip. The only thing that mattered was what everyone had come to see: a natural wonder.