Mia Ayliffe-Chung arrived in Australia in 2015 ready for the adventure of a lifetime.
She had just qualified as a childcare practitioner and was ready to see the world.
Her adventures took her through Morocco, Turkey, India and Thailand before taking up her one-year visa in Australia.
She began working at Bedroom Lounge Bar on the Gold Coast as a waitress, gathering a multitude of new friends.
Now, those friends are in mourning after the 21-year-old was stabbed to death at a backpacker's hostel in north Queensland.
Miss Ayliffe-Chung was at the start of a three-month stint on the Harvest Trail to extend her one-year visa.
She was working on a sugar cane farm and providing her friends with daily updates on what she was up to.
"Day one, done! Only 87 left to do. Today we were in sugar canes. Feeling like a little Jamaican again. Saw about 5 small spiders, 4 poisonous toads and 3 geckos. Not too shabby of a day," she posted on Facebook on August 17.
On Friday she updated again, this time ensuring her friends knew she was getting a tan while working under Australia's harsh sun.
"Day 3 done! Only 86 days left! No creatures spotted, disappointing Australia. Got a new business, rock selling. Anyone fancy some top of the range, hand picked big rocks. Give me a message. Limited edition blue ones now in stock. Tan status; it's confirmed, not dirt it's burn. Only burned once before and spend two days on the farm and I'm crispy," she posted.
Each post was met with a wave of encouragement from family and friends as they watched her journey from afar.
But her life was brought shockingly and tragically to an unexpected end on Tuesday night when a French backpacker allegedly stabbed her to death.
The response online was swift and emotional.
"Today the world has lost one of the most beautiful young women to ever walk this planet. Today I lost a best friend. A girl like no other, one of the happiest, full of energy, delightful, energetic and hilarious girl I've come across," her friend Kyle Godwin posted.
Rowan Clark, a former manager at Bedroom Lounge Bar, also shared his memories of the young Brit backpacker.
"Mia was an infectiously happy, young girl, and will be missed dearly," he posted on Facebook.
Her friend Sam Gostelow, who knew her on the Gold Coast and had planned to travel to north Queensland to work with her, spoke of his heartbreak after losing a dear friend.
"Words can not describe the anguish I am feeling knowing you are no longer with us. May your spirit live on in all of us forever more," he posted.
A Townsville Hospital spokeswoman said the other British tourist critically stabbed in the attack, 30-year-old Thomas Jackson, remained in a critical but stable condition on Thursday morning.
A local man who tried to help the pair received minor injuries.
Reports from the scene indicated the 29-year-old French national allegedly responsible for the attack uttered Islamic phrases during the incident and while being arrested by police.
But on Wednesday evening Queensland Police Deputy Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said no evidence had been gathered to indicate "radicalisation or extremism".
"However, it is early days and the investigation has to be thorough. It will probably be protracted," he told Nine News.
"It will be some time before we can say with full confidence that that's not an issue in this investigation."
The British High Commissioner, Menna Rawlings, has travelled to Townsville to offer consular assistance to British nationals who have been caught up in the incident and has spoken to senior police.
"We are all mindful that this is a terribly shocking and devastating incident," she told Fairfax Media.
"Our role is to make sure we give the best possible support to those who need our help both here and in the United Kingdom.
"I have spoken directly to the senior police officer leading the investigation and I would stress at this time that there isn't any evidence to suggest that this is a terrorist or terror-related event."
Police were yet to lay charges over the incident.
