Romancing the falls

Niagara Falls is renowned as the world's honeymoon capital. But GERRY VOLGENAU asks whether it deserves its reputation.

Niagara Falls has been ballyhooed as the honeymoon capital of the world for more than 150 years.

In the 1800s, the lovestruck rich came in horsedrawn carriages. Later, almost anyone who could afford to rattled up from New York City by train. Songs such as Let's Get Away From it All caught the romantic drift with lyrics like, "Let's take a trip to Niagara, this time we'll look at the falls."

Locals say the honeymoon notion still carries the intoxicating strength of a best man's cologne.

Hoteliers say their honeymoon suites, some with heart-shaped Jacuzzi tubs, are filled constantly. Niagara Falls Tourism reports that each year it distributes 12,000 to 14,000 special discount certificates to honeymooners.

But why do they flock here? Magnificent? Yes. Awe-inspiring? Certainly. A whole lot of water? You bet. But romantic?

Exactly what is the connection between romance and a 56m precipice with 10.4 billion litres of water thundering over it every hour?

Clearly, I'd missed something in my last half-dozen visits, so I went back to find out what that might be.

I stayed a couple of days and visited the places newlyweds visit, bought the things they buy, ate in the restaurants they frequent and even went to the wedding of a Missouri couple who said their "I dos" within sight of the falls.

First I went to the falls which, I thought, must be the greatest of romantic intoxicants. All that surging water. All that noise. All that billowing spray.

The statistics astound. Ninety percent of the Niagara River's water washes over the Canadian, or Horseshoe, Falls which are 56m tall and 640m long at the rim.

The American Falls, including the narrow Bridal Veil Falls, are 58m tall and 312m long at the rim.

The Maid of the Mist boat ride, a half-hour trip up to the bottom of the Horseshoe Falls, is famous. It's been going since 1846. Maybe people find that romantic.

Certainly it's fun. On my trip the boat nosed into the cloud at the base of the falls. That close, the gauzy-looking mist you see from the edge of the gorge comes at you with the force of hailstones. Skin pummelled to a raw glow, the passengers laugh anyway. They shout at each other over the falls' roar, take snapshots of each other using drop-speckled photo lenses. But I saw no necking or nuzzling.

Maid of the Mist staffers give you a bright blue plastic poncho to keep your clothes dry. It works, but when you disembark you notice the wet footprints left by your sodden sneakers on the cement.

Lots of couples go behind the falls - maybe romance lurks there?

From the edge of the Canadian Falls on Table Rock, I joined a bunch of other people in rain ponchos - yellow this time - to go down 45m in a lift to the base of the falls.

The door slid open and we were in a cement tunnel with a very wet floor. You can walk to two window-like openings that are behind the falls. You know the water is crashing down just beyond them. You hear the thunder. You feel the splashing.

But the sight is hardly more interesting than looking at the inside of a cloud through the window of a plane.

It is more sensational to step out on to a platform located next to the stream of the falls. It's like seeing Old Faithful shoot downward. This is another version of the Maid ride, where the water is shotgunned at you horizontally.

But while the falls are dramatic and their roar sets your heart pounding, locals say the spectacle is nothing compared to what it used to be. In fact, it's only half of what it used to be.

For 40 years half of the water that used to roar over the falls has been sidetracked into two big pipes about 3.5km upstream.

The water was hijacked to run hydro-electric plants that generate power for TV sets and microwaves in the United States and Canada. Once its energy has been sapped, the water is put back into the river, downstream from the falls.

Locals especially remember how Niagara used to roar. They say its hammering waters could be heard clearly 10 or 12 blocks away. Today it is barely audible even one block away.

While the area may or may not be connected with romance, it is nearly impossible to talk about Niagara Falls and not talk about heroics.

Heroics here come by the barrel, or more specifically the kind of barrel people squeeze into before dropping over the precipice.

So far, 16 attempts have been made; 11 succeeded. Only the daredevils survived.

When it comes to tourist districts, Niagara Falls has more cheap thrills, flashing neon, horror venues, fast food and cheesy souvenirs than would fit in a few blocks.

Everything you can imagine wanting - or never wanting - in this lifetime has printed on it the words, "Niagara Falls, Canada.

- KRT

Casenotes

FREE SHOW: You can wander along the rim of the gorge with views of the falls for free. Niagara Falls has about 10 dozen hotels and motels. The most expensive are closest to the falls and river.

EATING OUT: The usual fast-food franchises are everywhere. I liked breakfast at the Secret Garden Restaurant - pancakes and French toast with real maple syrup - just across the street from the Skyline Foxhead Hotel. For dinner, Mama Leone (5705 Victoria Ave) has a fine reputation for Angus beef. Further upscale is Casa D'Oro Dining Lounge (5875 Victoria Ave). Here, the food is more expensive and good, but not up to Mama Leone's.

THINGS TO DO: Hop aboard the Maid of the Mist cruise at 5920 River Rd. Boats run every 15 minutes from 9.45 am to 5.45 pm, on weekends until 7.45 pm. Prices are equivalent to about $NZ15 for ages 13 and older, $9.60 for ages 6-12 and free for under-fives.

The Journey Behind the Falls trip at Queen Victoria Park is open 9 am-6 pm weekdays, 9 am-9 pm weekends.

On a clear day, it's claimed you can see up to 130km from the Skylon Tower at 5200 Robinson.

If you come on your honeymoon (or even on your anniversary), Niagara Falls Tourism will give you a special letter that admits the bride free to many major attractions.