A former Rickmansworth School pupil has made the shortlist for the “best job in the world” – as an island caretaker in Australia.

Sarah Louise Lane, originally from Durrants Drive, Croxley Green, has reached the final 50 of more than 34,000 applications received by Tourism Queensland.

The winning candidate will be awarded a six month contract to help maintain the islands of the Great Barrier Reef and write a regular blog to help publicise the idyllic location.

In return he or she will receive a salary of £70,000 and live in a rent free villa – a generous remuneration befitting the job's “best in the world" title.

Ms Lane, a freelance writer and photographer, applied for the role while travelling in South America.

She said: “I still can’t believe I have got this far. I thought the odds were pretty stacked against me but I never let that put me off though.

“For me, the best things in life are travel, writing and photography and this job combines all of them in a fantastic adventure and slaps an incredible salary on the top.

“I travel around the world and keep an entertaining blog, so to get paid to do what I love would be a dream come true."

After learning of the job through a friend on the internet the 25-year-old struggled to film and upload an audition video from a remote Peruvian village. Here she was forced to battle angry lamas, light fingered thieves and a perilously slow internet connection.

She added: “When I was filming the video I got spat at by a Lama, had my USB stick stolen and then somebody tried to steal my camera. Then the internet was so slow that it took one and a half hours to upload.”

Tourism Queensland will soon whittle down the shortlist to just ten and fly them to Brisbane for a face-to-face interview. Another wild card applicant will be chosen by popular vote on the internet.

To register a vote visit www.islandreefjob.com