Once you reach the landing spot, be prepared to get muddy! Probably the best footwear is a good treaded pair of heavy duty sandals, which is what I had. You need footwear that has good traction, but you'll be wading through two water crossings from knee deep to thigh deep, so the good sandals are the best thing, I think.

The hike in to the hidden falls is muddy in spots and follows the river along the south shore. It is very peaceful hiking along, and when you get to the falls, it's time for lunch and a swim under the falls. You can go right up and get underneath them, and actually stand up in waste deep water, behind the falls. It's kind of cool. The water is a little cooler than the ocean, but not by much.

This is definitely a trip worth taking for a leisurely few hours. There are usually quite a few people back there at any given time, though, which makes it a little less "hidden" than anticipated. Once again, though, it does not spoil it, nor detract from the beauty of the falls in its locale.

The kayaking back is a little more strenuous, and you'll want to hug the shore going back even more than you did going in because the wind will be coming at you on the trip back. It's nothing too strenuous with two people kayaking though. All in all, a worthwhile adventure.

We stumbled onto it first in1992, before Hurricane Iniki devastated Kaua'i. It's reached just after passing over the bridge beside Opaeka'a Falls. A left turn onto a steep, 1 lane road led down the cliffside to the village. Feeling adventurous, we took it, and held our breath around blind turns posted "Sound Horn". At the bottom, by the river, we found ourselves with only the guides for company. So our tour was thorough and attentive, and by its end, we and the guides were good friends. We were offered tickets to a hula benefit for the local lula troupe which was training for the Merry Monarch Festival in Hilo.This was not the usual luau for tourists, but a 3 hour professional production with visiting artists from Niihau and Honolulu. The only production we've seen that came even close to that evening was the Ballet Folklorico in Cancun.

Besides the village, there were kayaks available for rent to tour the Wailua River. We've taken that tour in later years, with our grown daughter. With 3 of us in two 2-person kayaks, we "borrowed" one of the Hawaiian staff to help with the second kayak. "Bob" was barefoot with a machete tied to his belt - sort of a Hawaiian Tarzan. Oh, the wondering stares we got from other tourists along the path to a hidden waterfall - as we were led by our personal guide.

The Wailua (means "Two streams" in Hawaiian) forks in the vicinity of the Fern Grotto, and the north (right hand, going upstream) branch leads to a rocky beach from which we hiked to the hidden waterfall. It's a long, often rocky trail that (for us) required sturdy shoes and some stream crossings. We were amazed to see our Hawaiian friend walking barefoot with no discomfort. Note that the sea kayaks we used are not noted for keeping you feet or trousers dry. Wear a bathing suit, and pack your shoes while on the water.

When Hurricane Iniki struck (1993?), the Hawaiian village was destroyed and was not rebuilt for some years. The movie "Outbreak" turned their fortunes around, both by providing funds to rebuild and by improving the access road, which now is "not too bad".

The round "African" huts built for the movie are not Hawaiian, but are still there. They make a good storage area.

Also see: this website