Niagara Falls (NZ)

We had a free weekend while we were in the South Island and decided to go exploring the Catlins National Forest, near Invercargill. It’s isolated, and windswept; something like the East Cape, only smaller. We were told to be sure to pack a lunch because there are no cafe's.

On our tour map was a small town named Niagara. We decided we had to go there. And when we got there we noticed a sign pointing to Niagara Falls!

It turns out that the original land surveyor for the area (in the 1800's?) had previously visited North America's Niagara Falls and must have had a sense of humour, because he named the little rapids in the stream Niagara Falls. The town (one cafe and two houses) decided to capitalize on its fame(?) and posted a sign with a photo of our Niagara Falls.

In case the photo is not clear, it's taken from beside their sign with the falls showing over the top.