Set within 2.5 acres of the world’s oldest tropical rainforest, Butterfly Bend is one of the most extraordinary private residences in the Daintree. Designed and built with a level of craftsmanship and character rarely found, this remarkable pole home sits suspended above a freshwater creek, surrounded by 180 million years of living, breathing wilderness, just 350 metres from beautiful Cow Bay Beach.

The scale and quality of construction announces itself immediately. Massive ironbark poles anchor the home to the landscape, while exposed cypress beams and timber lined ceilings draw the eye upward at every turn. Polished mixed red forest timber floors run throughout, louvre windows capture the rainforest breeze, and a circular stained glass window casts light through the entrance in a way that feels deliberate and considered. Every window frames the forest. Every space is individual. Every detail has been thought through.

The open plan living and dining area is generous and full of character, with a sunken lounge and a kitchen that means business, complete with polished timber benchtops, a gas catering oven and tall bifold windows that open to a breakfast bar on the verandah, where the sound of the creek below is constant and deeply calming. Three suspended verandahs sit above the rainforest canopy, each offering its own perspective over the landscape.