OLYMPIC fever caught up with an Offenham couple on their recent trip to Australia.

Eric and Brenda Marsh were driving from Sydney to Brisbane when they heard that the Olympic torch was going to pass through Port Douglas.

The pair decided to join the crowds as the torch passes from one runner to the next at each change, where cheering crowds further illuminate the occasion.

A motorcycle cavalcade preceded the arrival of the torch and runners before the flame was lit amidst an abundance of stands and marquees.

Later, the tourists were even allowed to hold the torch and have their photographs taken. They hardly endeared themselves to the locals, though, with shouts of "This is for England!"

In a strange quirk of fate, Eric and Brenda were then privileged to witness the spectacle a second time near Cairns.

On this occasion, the cauldron was on a Seacat and the torch was being taken underwater in a typical innovative Aussie venture.

The couple's coming together with this historic event made their holiday down under even more special.