Douglas Shire’s world famous “road to paradise” has been changed forever after the coconut palms along the pristine stretch of highway were this month removed to make way for necessary road repairs.

Pictured on poster shots for the region for many years, the Captain Cook Highway next to Pebbly Beach is now barren of vegetation.

Past tourism brochures talk of a time “when the journey is as beautiful as the destination”.

“The Great Barrier Reef Drive, linking Cairns and Cape Tribulation, is surely one of the country’s greatest scenic roads,” according to one online post. 

“Have you done this coastal drive yet?”