My wife has family up in Townsville, some in the city and a cousin out at blue water.  We have been up there several times, usually fly into Cairns then drive a hire car down to Townsville to visit, then head back to up to the Daintree for a break.  

We considered the NRAS but most of the houses seemed over priced, you definitely weren't getting a bargain.  Guaranteed rent is good though if you want to minimise risk