For the estimated 12,000 Irish backpackers in Australia on special one-year working holiday visas last Saturday's feared murder of a young British traveller on a remote highway in the Northern Territory is a wake-up call.

Although the presumed killing of 28year-old Peter Falconio is being viewed here as a once-off incident, it has struck a chord with many Irish travellers planning trips across the Australian outback.

Every year thousands of Irish backpackers journey up the east coast of Australia or take a trip through the interior similar to that being enjoyed by Mr Falconio and his partner Ms Joanne Lees. The numbers of Irish 20-somethings flocking to Australian shores on working holiday visas has rocketed in the last few years, so much so that it is fast replacing the US as the destination of choice.

At the Irish Embassy in Canberra this week officials joined other prominent members of the Irish community to remind travellers to take precautions against being stranded in the outback, and becoming a victim of crime or, more likely, the harsh elements.

Pat Bourne, First Secretary to the Irish Embassy in Canberra said Irish people should not be deterred from exploring the outback. However, he said, Mr Falconio's case emphasised the difficulties when travelling vast distances through some of the most remote countryside in the world.

"We find what causes most problems for Irish people when they are here is car crashes," he said. "A lot of people don't seem to realise that a road trip here in Australia is a totally different thing to a road trip in Ireland. You get people trying to drive from say Adelaide to Melbourne thinking they are going to get it all done in one go, and even get to their destination before it gets dark. But when you're behind the wheel for seven hours or whatever fatigue tends to kick in.

"We would say to people that they should rest along the way, that they should bring plenty of water with them, some oil or fuel and that they should let people know their itinerary in order that they will be missed if they don't turn up at a certain place."

He said travellers are most at risk in Western Australia, northern Queensland and in the Northern Territory.

"These places can be very remote and it will be more difficult here to get help from people if things go wrong. You will also be most at risk here from a personal safety point of view."

Michael Finn is the deputy editor of the Irish Echo and is based in Sydney. Despite the events of last weekend, he insisted Australia is still a very safe place. However, caution should be urged now more than ever.

Like Mr Bourne he said long cross-country road trips mostly led to difficulties. He urged travellers to make sure their cars were in good working order before setting out, and to buy a cheap mobile phone to use in the event they become stranded.

"People should also keep in touch with home by means of e-mails or letters and it goes without saying that you should never travel alone or hitch hike," he said.

"In general Australia is overtaking the US as the place where young Irish people want to come. We had 15,000 backpackers here during the Olympics and yet we get very few major tragedies here. Statistically this is a safe country to travel around in."

That Australia is now more popular is in no doubt. The Australian Department of Immigration offers 12-month working holiday visas to almost any Irish person under 31 who applies. The visa allows the recipient to stay, work and travel for one year. The only condition is that jobs are changed every three months, to ensure backpackers do not get too settled in one place and that they travel and spend their money in regional centres.

In the mid 1990s, around 7,000 Irish people were given working holiday visas each year. By the latter part of the decade that figure had increased to 10,000, and during the Olympics it peaked at just over 15,000. According to an Australian government spokesman there are under 13,000 visa holders still in Australia.

Claire Conroy, Sorcha Murray and Catherine Ryan are typical Irish backpackers. All three are university graduates who spent summers in the US on the J1 student visa while still at university. Now in their mid- to late-20s they have come to Australia before focusing on their careers.

Claire Conroy (28) is from Omagh in Co Tyrone and has been in Australia since last November.

"I'd just finished an MBA back home so I thought I'd travel now before I start to really develop my career in Ireland," she said. Both she and Catherine Ryan, a 26year-old accountant from Malahide in Dublin travelled in South Africa for three weeks on route to Australia. They have also just completed a two-month tour of Australia's east coast, perhaps the most popular route for those who want to tour the country before returning home.

They have worked in marketing and accountancy respectively to save money to fund the rest of their travels. In another three months they plan to leave Sydney again for a month in New Zealand. Following that it will be back to the Australian capital for another short working stint before returning home, taking in Asia on the way.

"Of course when you hear of things happening to travellers like that English couple last weekend in the Northern Territory it does make you think," said Catherine. "But I would have to say I feel very safe in Australia. In fact it's the safest place I think I've ever been to. Even in Sydney I'd feel safe walking around on my own no matter what time it was. "When we were in South Africa it was a different story. There were big security gates and a fence around our hostel and you're warned so much, `don't go here, don't go there'. But in Australia you've nothing like that."

Sorcha Murray (26), a civil servant from Dublin's North Strand, said the security offered by Celtic Tiger Ireland is a factor in persuading so many to take the year out.

"I think because Ireland is going so well people can leave for a year and go home afterwards and be pretty confident they're going to get another job. Whereas before people got a job and they simply hung onto it."

Blood found at the Australian outback scene where British tourist Peter Falconio is presumed to have been murdered is his, investigators said yesterday.

Police, who are pursuing what they describe as a new line of inquiry, said DNA testing confirmed the blood belonged to the missing man, who is feared to have been killed by the side of a remote highway near Barrow Creek. "We now believe blood found at the scene is the blood of Peter Falconio," Northern Territory police commander Max Pope said. "The Falconio family have been told of this. Of course they didn't want to hear the news but I think they have accepted this."