TRAVEL | WATERFALLS | PHOTOGRAPHY | PROMPT

Waterfalls? At This Time Of Year?

Unexpected and favourite waterfalls at home and away

If you say ‘waterfalls’ to me, the image that usually springs to my mind is of someone standing in a blue pool, under a tropical waterfall, the delightfully cool water cascading over their tanned shoulders. Bliss!

The places I travel to most often though are not tropical — quite the reverse. I live in Ontario, Canada, close to some of the most famous waterfalls in the world — Niagara Falls of course. Most people only get to see them in the summertime though, when the town of Niagara Falls fills up with tourists, but for me, the most remarkable time to take a trip down to visit them is in the winter, when it’s really cold.

Even in the depths of the Canadian winter, the falls continue to run, I’ve never seen them stop anyway. The spray that the cascade sends up high into the air falls as tiny ice particles that freeze everything they touch, forming huge sharp icicles, coating the walls nearby, even coating the lampposts. The Niagara River looks like an ice-floe slowly making its way to plummet over the falls.

Although the water flow is not as high as before it was dammed to provide electricity, it is still spectacular. I would love to have seen it long ago, when there was nothing around, no towns, no structures, just the majestic falls.

In the shot above you can see the Horseshoe Falls, which are on the Canadian side of the river, with that huge plume of spray, and on the left are the American Falls. I do like to go visit the falls, but I have to say I’m not a huge fan of the town of Niagara Falls, with all its touristy attractions and tall concrete casinos and hotels. When I travel down to this area I prefer to just see the falls and then drive down the side of the wide blue river to visit the quaint town of Niagara-On-The-Lake with its many restaurants, theatres, and wineries.

At this time of year, I usually travel to Mont Tremblant in Quebec, for some March-break ski fun. Looking out the window of the hotel where we stay, we can usually see a tall series of waterfalls that have completely turned to ice. Frequently, ice-climbers are scaling their rocky heights. I think they are crazy. Braver than me anyway!

This year though, it’s been very mild weather. I haven’t seen weather this mild here in 10 years and so now when we look out the waterfall is running. It’s beautiful in summer and in winter.

A waterfall I love to visit is on the other side of Algonquin Park in Arrowhead Provincial Park. In Canada, we are very lucky to have so many beautiful parks where we can connect with nature. I find it really important for my mental health to get out and do exercise in the fresh air, surrounded by trees.

At Arrowhead there are lots of activities and my favourite is to rent a kayak from the park store and paddle down the river, under the bridge, pull my kayak up onto a rock and then climb down to see the waterfalls. These ones cascade gently rather from a height and it’s a great place to sit and eat a packed lunch. I don’t think it would be navigable, and after lunch I usually explore the trails around the waterfall and then head back up river.

The final set of falls I have to share is in another place I travel to frequently— Edinburgh. To be absolutely honest I’m not sure if these are ‘real’ falls, I think it’s more of a weir, but they are so beautiful. On the trail walk along the side of the Water of Leith, you pass them as you make your way from the Instagrammer favourite, Dean Village, up to the Gallery Of Modern Art. The picture here was taken in summer, but it’s also amazing to see in winter when the heavy rains make the water roar as it passes over.

I hope you enjoyed a look at some of my favourite waterfalls. Thanks to Anne Bonfert for this prompt.

Some other great stories about waterfalls in this month’s Globetrotters:

Visit the spectacular waterfalls of Iceland with The Travelling Programmer

Warmer waters in Jamaica with Scott-Ryan Abt who has the same song stuck in his head and me (and probably all of us!)