Elly Warren, pictured here with her boyfriend Luke Tempany, was on a trip in Africa when she died. Credit:Facebook/@elly.warren.1 Between tears, Ms Warren's mother Nicole Cafarella told Fairfax Media that her daughter was "just one of those girls that wanted to travel the world and see everything she could before she was 30". She said Ms Warren was travelling in Africa alone. She had spent six weeks volunteering for an eco-research company called Africa Underwater alongside marine scientists. During that time she was staying in the company bungalows called Casa Barry at Tofo Beach in south-eastern Mozambique, a spot popular with backpackers, surfers and divers and described on travel forums as having a "pumping nightlife."

On social media, Elly's friends and family have paid tribute to a woman who loved to travel. Credit:Facebook/@elly.warren.1 "It's a nice beach," said a local business owner. "We never have something like this before. We don't know what happened." Ms Warren finished up with Underwater Africa on Tuesday, said the company's booking manager, Graeme, who asked that his surname not be used. Tofo beach. She booked two nights at Wuyani Pariango backpackers, about one kilometre away.

A staff member at the backpackers said she never arrived. "We are still trying to figure out what happened," Graeme said. "We are mourning her as well. Our staff have taken a real knock. They are just young scientists and they worked closely with her." Graeme said Underwater Africa directors were helping the Warren family, and would not comment further. Fairfax Media believes Ms Warren's body is being taken from the small hospital near Tofo Beach to Mozambique's capital of Maputo, 500 kilometres south.

It's believed she had visited the area to fulfil her lifelong dream of swimming with whales. In a Facebook post, her sister Kristy Warren, said her mother had got a call to say Ms Warren had been killed. "My sister was in Africa when my mum got a phone call from one of the backpackers saying her daughter has been murdered, as I heard that my heart dropped," she said. "It is a parents' nightmare to get a phone call like this. "Elly was always ambitious and had so many goals to go travelling but maybe she had too many.

"I want to say if you are thinking of going travelling or going overseas please be careful [about]who you go with. Rest in peace Elly, you are loved dearly." Ms Warren's stepfather David Cafarella said the news was very raw, and they were still seeking information from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. "We can't say anything else until we find out more. We haven't got any more information from DFAT," he said. He said that despite being only just out of her teens, Ms Warren was already a "seasoned traveller" with an "insatiable desire to help the environment and others less fortunate" than herself. "She worked several jobs when home to fund her next adventure often working 16 hours a day sleeping in the car between jobs," Mr Cafarella said.

Following her trip to Africa, he said Ms Warren had planned to return home and study at university. "She was off to NZ when she got back and then to James Cook University to begin her studies to become a marine biologist her great passion and what she wanted to do with her life more than anything," Mr Cafarella said. "She has volunteered in South America and Africa in various environmental study locations. "Her strong will and work ethic were her strengths as was her love of family, especially her eight-year-old brother Sam. "She was a really determined, beautiful young woman who we are all going to miss so much."

Ms Warren's boyfriend, Luke Tempany, said she would be deeply missed. "I want her to be remembered for her love of the oceans, whales, sharks and all living animals," he said. "She had such a beautiful heart that wanted to travel the world diving all the waters, exploring caves and swimming with all different fish." Ms Warren's family are planning to fly to Mozambique to collect her body. There are already hundreds of messages from friends on social media, with the 20-year-old remembered as a "gorgeous girl" with an "infectious smile".

"I'll never forget your huge infectious smile and crazy stories," Milly Waters said. "Rest in peace you gorgeous girl. You were actually such a beautiful person who knew exactly what she wanted in life and it is devastating that you were taken before all your dreams could come true," Claudia Hall said. "You were really a one of a kind, such a lovely soul," Codie Diston said.



Ms Warren's father Paul Warren posted a photo on Facebook, with a tribute: "My lovely daughter Elly passed away yesterday when overseas. I loved her dearly & I will miss her so much". The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said that it was "providing consular assistance to the family of a woman who died in Mozambique".

The government's Smart Traveller website says Australians travelling to Mozambique should exercise a "high degree of caution". "Pay close attention to your personal security at all times and monitor the media about possibly new safety or security risks. Avoid travelling at night." With AAP