Kuranda Rainforest House

A three-bedroom, three-bathroom house on a quiet four-acre block of private rainforest above Cairns, with its own entry to the Barron River where the water is warm enough to paddleboard, kayak or swim; the host answers the obvious question up front, and no, there are no crocodiles at this stretch. The grounds have been planted with exotic flowers and fruit and, deliberately, with the plants that draw the electric-blue Ulysses butterfly. Inside it leans comfortable rather than rustic, with leather recliners, a large television, queen beds with good linen and an outdoor shower and bath. Kuranda village and its Sunday markets are ten minutes away, Cairns thirty, which makes this the Wet Tropics stay for people who want the forest and a flight the next morning. Four years of hosting, rated 4.97.