Cassowary House — Hotel in Kuranda

Our room, in the building above the carport, was basic but acceptable with the essentials (Note: fridge is only slightly larger than a minibar fridge) including dishware, microwave and small table in the kitchen, a small sink and walk-in shower in the bathroom (toilet, thanks to Australian regulations, is located in a clean, well-lit water closet on the balcony), two comfortable twin beds, two armchairs and balcony with small chair and table. In front f the balcony was a lot of dead vegetation and forest detritus with no clearing and little chance of seeing birds, except for a male Victoria Riflebird who occasionally perched on a decapitated tree trunk.. The owner of Cassowary House, Sue Gregory, said she planned to get a gardener in to clean things up The only thing that did bother me was the lack of quiet as the adjacent carport was like Grand Central Station with constant activity all day long. Probably wouldn't matter if you're out all day. The Cassowary (the bigger female as the male was occupied with a nest of chicks in the forest) came to visit two mornings in a row. On the balcony of the main house Sue has a bird feeder so that birds come to visit during breakfast. A musky rat kangaroo seemed to be a regular visitor as well.|A generous, delicious breakfast is on offer each morning for $20 AUD/ person. |Sue is very pleasant and welcoming as well as extremely knowledgeable, She also provides bird and wildlife tours through Cassowary Tours. I did a private birding day tour with Juin as my guide. It was one of the best birding days I've had in all the countries I've visited. We visited several habitats and saw: Double-Eyed Fig Parrot, Sulphur-Crested Cockatoos, Red-Backed Fairy Wren and at Hasties Swamp (a must!), we saw Ibis, Swamphen Plumed Whistling Ducks, Hardheads, Coots, Grebes, Herons, Cormorants, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Pink-Eared Shelduck & more.On a rainforest walk at Lake Barrine, we saw: Yellow-Breasted Boatbill, Grey Fantail, Golden Whistler, Grey-Headed Robin, Chowchilla, to mention a few and on the way back to Cassowary House, the ever alert Juin spotted some Red-tailed Black Cockatoos. I should mention that Juin, my guide, is not a talker and likes to lead the way without too many questions. This style of guiding suited me just fine because this man really knows the birds! I thought this tour was excellent!|I also went with a friend on a private wildlife day tour with Juin. A very patient Juin found us a Lumholtz Kangaroo. We also visited the Platypus Park where we did spot some platypus, then headed off to Granite Gorge Park where we saw the rare Mareeba Rock Wallabies, before we headed off to the golf course where we saw Eastern Gray Kangaroos. This tour was good but Juin's style didn't work for my friend and at one point, while we were trying to spot the Tree Kangaroo, he was talking more to people who were following us than to us.. I did think that that was a little weird, given the price we were paying for a private tour. We did see some birds but I think Juin would have looked for more if my friend (a non-birder) hadn't been with us. Obviously, most Australian mammals are nocturnal (I had already done a nocturnal tour), but I felt that seeing the rock wallabies and the Eastern Gray Kangaroos really made the tour worthwhile. We had a lovely lunch both tours at Gallo Dairyland which also had artisanal chocolates and cheeses. By the way, Sue also offers foreign birding trips through SickleBill Safaris which looked really interesting.. As for Cassowary House, I think a couple of nights would be sufficient as I didn't see a lot of other birds on the property and I...

We stayed for 4 nights in the Catbird Cottage and by the last day I didn’t want to leave! The cottage is located about 10 m from the main house and is absolutely adorable. It is definitely a rainforest experience in that there are bugs and things (seeds and leaves) falling on the roof at night, but there was more than enough provided to keep us comfortable. The bed had a heated blanket, there was a fully equipped kitchen, and we had a beautiful balcony overlooking the rainforest. For one of the days we were there, it rained the entire day, but we were happy to spend our time reading and relaxing in such a cozy space.||The property was beautiful, and without even leaving, we were able to see red legged pademelons, musky rat kangaroos, northern brown bandicoots, a white tailed rat, Victoria’s riflebird, Macleay’s honeyeater, black butcherbird, hornbill friarbird, and more, with many of them coming right up to the porch of the main house.||The hosts were wonderful. Sue prepared a delicious breakfast each morning and was happy to talk to us about all the local wildlife and recommend birding locations to us. They offered to give rides to surrounding birding locations that were a bit too far to walk to. Both Sue and her husband were extremely knowledgeable, kind, and obviously care very much about the wildlife they live with.||The location was also perfect. Black mountain road was a great place to do some birding, and it was about a 25 minute walk from the center of Kuranda, from which you could walk to Barron Falls. It was far enough away from the town though that it felt very serene and secluded.||Our favorite part of the stay though was Cornelius, the rooster that lives on the property. He was so friendly and affectionate, and tagged along on our birding walks around the property hoping for some hugs and pats.||Overall this was an amazing way to experience the rainforest and the local wildlife, and if you are excited about the outdoors, I would highly...

I booked this along with the Platypus tour way in advance. Your accommodation is in the rain forest amongst nature so don’t expect it to be bug free or noise free. It was exactly how I imagined it to be. We were in the Catbird cottage with a kitchen , sitting area and double bed. There is a toilet with good shower. My wife didn’t like it as there were insects and it was dark ( duh what did you think there would be ) it’s a bloody rainforest for gods sake. It is very dark but there is electricity and lights, sure there are a few bugs but it’s their home what do you expect. I had a great time and loved it. Lots of birds like the Riflebird and don’t forget the prehistoric looking Southern Cassowary which showed up with his two youngsters. Fantastic , the breakfast was amazing with heaps of fruit, eggs, cereals, amazing bread, muffins and hot coffee. Best breakie I’ve had. |The tour was great with our Phil pointing out all the birds and finding us tree kangaroos and then the Platypus itself which was the highlight of my holiday. Phil has a amazing knowledge of birds and had me wishing I was going on another tour with him. |Anyway my wife didn’t like the secluded site or the noises so we cut our stay short and went to a luxury hotel where my wife was happy at last. I on the other hand sulked for days. I will be back ( myself ) for a week next time. Thanks guys...