Adventurer, author and presenter Alice Morrison doesn’t do things by halves. After ditching the rat race in 2011, she’s taken on countless extraordinary expeditions all over the world and been called the Indiana Jones for girls.
Born in Scotland, Alice spent her early years in Uganda and Ghana. Her first adventure saw her cycle from Cairo to Cape Town on the Tour d’Afrique - a journey spanning 12,000km across four months.
Among other epic achievements, she ran the Marathon des Sables dubbed the ‘toughest race on earth’ and became the first woman to walk the length of Morocco’s Draa River in 2019. She went on to trek across the Sahara and the Atlas Mountains, which she now calls home.
We caught up with Alice, 60, as she embarks on a road trip across Saudi Arabia. From her hotel room in Riyadh, she spoke exclusively to OK! about the need for more female adventures on TV and why midlife is the best time to travel as a woman.
"Being British, when people call me a role model it fills me with horror. I know myself on my off days, lying on the couch with my cat watching Netflix, so those labels feel embarrassing. But I love hearing from women who have been inspired by following my adventures.
"People see me and think if she can do it, why can’t I? I’m not young, beautiful, thin or fit, but I'm doing it. One woman emailed me to say she’d read my book about running the Marathon des Sables and signed up for a half marathon - that feels amazing.
"I live in a tiny Berber community in the Atlas Mountains. After I trekked across Morocco in 2019 and spent lockdown there, I loved it so much that I decided to stay.
"Before I set off on that expedition, I was worried I’d be lonely. I was travelling with three strict Muslim male guides, whose mothers, daughters and sisters would never do what I was doing because it would be shameful. I assumed they’d treat me as a client, not a team member. But I couldn’t have been more wrong.
"On the second day, I was walking at the back feeling sorry for myself when the lead guide Brahim shouted, “Zahara!” which was the name they gave me. “Come to the front. One hand can’t clap.” That was it. I was part of the team.
"There were some moments when I was petrified, like when we hit quicksand in the Sahara. We were walking along talking about football, how the Moroccan coach is overpaid, when suddenly there was the most enormous roar because our lead camel, Callum, had sunk up to his chest.
"Suddenly there was that feeling you get if the phone rings at 4am - that moment between life and potential death. Because the camels are tied together, Callum was dragging the camels behind him into the sand.
"If they’d hit the water, they’d have been sucked down, which was too horrific to contemplate, not only as we wouldn't have been able to continue, but because these were our animals and we loved them.
"Luckily, Addi was only 20 and strong as an ox. He managed to yank Callum out and push everyone back amid this terrible noise of the camels screaming. We felt that we had cheated death.
"Over the seven-and-a-half-month journey, we also survived land mines, found a lost city, and even discovered dinosaur footprints. It was a magnificent adventure and we did it all together.
"The beautiful human spirit we shared was the highlight for me. I realised you can be of a different gender, colour, religion and age, but human beings are all the same.
"My proudest moment came when I returned to my village. The mountain guides held a walk and a lunch for me in the mountains to honour me for walking across their country. There were speeches, there was tagine, mint tea and mules - it was wonderful. I felt really accepted into the community.
"I love living in the mountains and the families I live with. When I come home, all the kids in our communal yard call, “Alice, what have you brought for us?” and then I get covered in sticky kisses - children everywhere are the same.
"People have been so supportive when I’m travelling too. I throw myself at the kindness of strangers, and it almost always works out. Right now I’m on a road trip through Saudi Arabia and I bought a SIM card in Saudi Telecom. The young man who served me put his phone number in and said, “If you have any problems, I want you to call me.” You don't get that in 02!
"During the trip, I’m going to Jeddah on the coast to stay at a tiny boutique hotel run by two Saudi sisters. Then I’m being shown around the city by a guide called Sarah, who set up the first female-owned Saudi travel company - I can't wait.
"Of course, there are tough days on my solo journeys, but I’m very kind to myself. If I want to spend the night in the hotel watching telly on my phone, I’ll do it. I tell myself “Take your time. You're actually here to enjoy yourself.”
"I still love the UK and recently I was back in London for AdventurHER, an exhibition by Intrepid Travel to showcase female adventurers. It was validating to have someone say to all of us, “You're doing a good job and we’re going to support you because you’re underrepresented.”
"The media would have you believe the public isn’t interested in female adventurers – because they don't put us on telly. Just 26 of the 101 travel and adventure TV shows available to stream on the two leading TV channels include a female presenter.
"When I completed my Draa River trek, I called a famous radio show and asked if they’d like to interview me. They said: “No, we’ve done outdoors recently. We had Prince Harry on.” It was years ago and I’m still wounded!
"Don’t get me wrong, I love me a bit of hard-jawed male adventurer, but midlife women are intrepid too. We’re the fastest-growing demographic in adventure travel. We’re out there doing it and we want to do more.
"Midlife is the best time to travel solo as a woman because the male gaze is different. You’re looked at as a mum or auntie and everyone talks to you.
"That means we bring an extra dimension to the table as adventure travel presenters too. For a start, women in these communities are happier to talk to a woman than a man. If we can raise female adventurers’ profiles, it’ll be easier to get funding. I’m sure Bear Grylls doesn’t need another ten grand to do whatever, whereas for some of us, that would make an enormous difference.
"I read somewhere that competition is the lowest form of energy and collaboration is the highest. And I’ve decided to put that into practice, so during the exhibition I made plans for new adventures with two fellow exhibitors.
"There are plenty more adventures in me. I’ve got a long list and I'm determined to get there. They’ll have to carry me off the field.
"I’d say to anyone who wants an adventure, just sign up for something. You'll make friends and you’ll get to see the best bits of the country.
"Through all my experiences I’ve learnt that human beings share so much more than keeps us apart. That’s the message I want to share - let’s live together peacefully."
Alice’s story featured as part of Intrepid Travel’s free AdventurHER Exhibition highlighting the incredible stories of female adventurers from around the world.
