Today I took an 'Antiki' tour down to Niagara Falls. Costing about $130, it lasts about 10 hours from pickup to drop off (9am to 7pm) and includes an all-you-can-eat buffet lunch. About 3 of those hours are free time for you to do your own thing. On the itinerary was obviously the Falls but your fee includes a 'Maid of the Mist' boat ride and a trip to th historic town of Niagara On The Lake. An optional extra is a helicopter ride over the falls. Weatherwise, it was a perfect day for it, the previous day's muggy then stormy weather had cleared meaning today was nice and warm with an expected high of 24C.
The drive from downtown Toronto to Niagara took about an hour and gave the driver an opportunity to enligten us about Ontario's history. Along the way, we drove through the city of Mississauga and also through the Niagara wine area. Niagara is starting to make a name for itself in the wine industry because of its ice wine. During winter, the temperatures often reach -30C which is perfect for making ice wine. The grapes are left on the vine to freeze and then thaw, then freeze again and so on. This constant freezing and thawing concentrates sugar in the grapes and leads to a very sweet wine. Unfortunately, the grapes have to picked by hand to avoid breaking them so some poor bugger has to go out in -30C to pick grapes. The driver was also kept busy turning the airconditioner off and on as the (mostly older, English couples) passengers alternated between complaining that it was too cold then too hot.
The first stop along the way was the optional helicopter flight over the falls. The price is usually (or so they say) $115 but the tour group only had to pay $85. Onky about five or six of us (out of about 30) opted in for this and it was great. Groups of six were crammed into a Bell 407 helicopter (Niagara Helicopters operates about four of them) for a 5-10 minute flight over the falls and surrounding area. Well, the Canadian side anyway, I don't think the pilot ventured into US airspace. Whilst not exactly cheap, it was well worth it as how often can you do this sort of thing?
All too soon it was over and we were herded back onto the bus.
Shortly after the helicopter ride, we arrived at Niagara Falls proper and disembarked to do our own thing for about an hour before lunch. I was slightly surprised that the falls didn't seem as big as I had always imagined. I'm not saying I was disappointed as they are still bloody huge and make a hell of roar, but for some reason I assumed they would be even bigger. I guess it could be because you actually look down on them from the sides of the gorge. There are two falls, the smaller 'American' falls on the American side and the bigger 'Canadian' falls further up the gorge (the ones you think of when you think of Niagara Falls). One thing I was not expecting (though I should have, this is North America after all) was all the hotels at the falls.
There's a Sheraton, a Hilton, and a number of others. The tour guide explained that Niagara Falls is the most popular honeymoon destination in America. I thought it would have been Hawaii but there you go. There weren't just hotels there; there's a casino, a Hard Rock Cafe and of course the obligatory Starbucks.
After lunch, we ventured down the gorge to board The Maid of the Mist. The Maid of the Mist is a ferry that takes passengers out into the mist caused by the falls. So that you don't get drenched all passengers are given blue plastic ponchos (basically big blue garbage bags) covering you from head to toe. They even have hoods to keep your hair dry. Not necessary for me of course. The Maid of the Mist is fantastic and the best way to see the falls. The best moment is when the boat gets to about 100 or so metres from the Canadian Falls (the big ones). The boat sits there for a couple of minutes getting bobbed around by the torrent of water rushing past on its way down the gorge. Meanwhile, you're trying to stand up straight, getting covered with spray listening to the thunderous roar of the falls. It's great.
The last stop on the tour was the little town of Niagara On The Lake. It's a small, heritage town analogous to Hahndorf I guess, situated on the shore of Lake Ontario, about 15 minutes from Niagara Falls. Many of the buildings date back to the early 1800s and are kept in immaculate condition as are the gardens and nature strips in the town. Other than that, there's not much else to it (the town holds some festivals throughout the year though), but grabbed and ice cream and took some pictures of some squirrels running around in the park.
At 6pm we boarded the bus and headed back to Toronto.
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