THRILLS WET, WILD AT NIAGARA FALLS
Daredevils will not be disappointed
The Niagara Wonder pounds and bucks against the powerful current as the boat edges toward the thundering Niagara Falls. Soaked in mist with my pulse racing, I feel very small next to the awesome power of the spraying, cascading water.
Put aside Niagara Falls’ image as a sedate honeymoon site it can be an adrenalin-filled visit of another kind.
Atop the gorge, I climb a two-storey platform and stand nervously at the edge while I am strapped into a harness. Far, far below, a boat like a bathtub toy nudges up against the pummeling falls. Suddenly, I’m racing down the wire of the Mist Rider Zipline, which reaches a frightening 70 km/h.
OK, I confess — I scream. The 660-metre distance to the base of the falls flashes by far too quickly.
I enjoy the cool spray and looking upwards see orange-raincoated people enveloped in mist at the Journey Behind the Falls attraction, just a little above.
Night is falling as I board the Niagara SkyWheel. I’m apprehensive for this is one of Canada’s largest ferris wheels, which rotates to the dizzying height of 53 metres. My nervousness dissipates as I reach the top for there are spectacular views of the American and Canadian Falls lit up with the mist turning the ever-changing colours into soft pastels.
Directly below, rather incongruously, is a herd of dinosaurs. As we rotate past the jaws of a ferocious Tyrannosaurs Rex, I realize it’s part of a miniature golf course. Nearby, crowds wander through the garish neon wink-and-blink of Clifton Hill with its penny arcades and houses of horror.
The next morning, I head north along the Niagara Parkway to the White Water Walk, where I take an elevator down to water’s edge and stroll along the boardwalk and onto viewing platforms at the river’s edge. The speed and ferocity of the of the Niagara River’s Class 6 white-water rapids are frightening with waves taller than me.
I think of the Maid of the Mist passing through here in 1860. The boat had been purchased and had to be delivered to Lake Ontario. The captain and the engineer took the boat through these rapids where the waves tossed it like a leaf, tearing off the smokestack. However, the boat emerged, was repaired and worked for many more years.
The tour also teaches about the 470 million year old, fossil-rich dolomite layers that form the Niagara Gorge. Sure, the plant and animal life are fascinating, but I ascend and proceed along the Niagara Parkway. I’m here to seek adventure.
Before boarding the Whirlpool Aero Car, built in 1916, I carefully inspect the six support cables along which the car travels. I’m seeking to understand how in 1975 Henry Rechatin snuck in before opening and made an illegal crossing on one of the cables … on a motorcycle. With his wife dangling upside down below! Truly a monument to marital trust.
The Aerocar carries me high over the embayment of the Niagara River that contains the swirling Whirlpool Rapids. Even from a height of 61 metres, the river is white with foam and the waves immense in size.
Matthew Webb, the first man to conquer the English Channel, tried to swim through these colossal waves in 1883. His body was not recovered for four days. As I watch, tiny figures hike along a trail beside the river. Then a powerful jet boat full of tourists comes upstream, fighting against the current. Wisely it doesn’t enter the whirlpool.
I continue toward Niagara-onthe-Lake and stop across from the Whirlpool Golf Course where a number of dark brown shafts are arrayed like a forest of dark telephone poles. This is the Whirlpool Adventure Course and attached to the poles are various platforms and suspended objects.
This isn’t nearly as high as the SkyWheel so easy-peasy, I think, climbing up. Attached to a safety line I start to inch along. Balancing on a wire, dodging logs and climbing nets is tougher than I expected, testing my agility and nerve.
And it gets tougher, a lot tougher, as I progress. I fumble through numerous obstacles, swinging and cursing, but enjoying it. Finally, I zip line to the ground, silently vowing to trade my gym membership for an adventure-course pass.
Continuing along the Niagara Parkway, I pass the Butterfly Conservatory, the Botanical Gardens and then the Sir Adam Beck electricity stations, which harness some of the immense power of Niagara Falls.
At Queenston Heights I briefly peruse the lush, beautifully manicured gardens and then head for the soaring Brock’s Monument, where Sir General Isaac Brock, a hero of the War of 1812, is interred.
Inside, I climb a narrow, claustrophobic, spiral staircase that seems to go on forever (235 steps) but finally, I’m at the top with grand vistas stretching in all directions.
I see Niagara Falls surrounded by mist and the long gorge that the river has carved back from the escarpment. It’s a daredevil’s playground.