state of mind Survival

Meet Megan Hine, a world expert in all aspects of remote wilderness expeditions and a consultant on some of the biggest adventure shows on TV – she's even kept Bear Grylls safe on set.

You could say survival expert Megan Hine has seen and done it all. She’s been chased through the jungle by armed opium-farm guards, abseiled past bears, and used tampons to light fires while in the wild. Never one to shy away from perilous conditions, Megan has coped with everything from sweltering deserts and humid jungles to precarious mountains and rapid rivers.

Cadet power

She credits her passion for adventure and the great outdoors to her time as a cadet at Malvern College –first as an RAF cadet and then a Royal Marine cadet.

‘There was a test to see if girls would be suitable to join the Royal Marines and I was chosen to be part of the research. Consequently, I was lucky enough to take part in loads of adventurous training.’

Megan’s parents were academics and it was assumed she would study and possibly join the armed forces, but being a cadet opened her eyes to a whole new world.

‘I took advantage of all the opportunities that arose, from winter climbing in Scotland to white-water kayaking. It really made me fall in love with exploring my limits, nature and wild places.'

Freedom beyond boundaries

Through leading expeditions and bushcraft courses (as well as being a survival expert on TV shows such as Man vs. Wild and Running Wild with Bear Grylls), Megan has explored far reaches of the globe in pursuit of adventure. The desire to find out what’s round the next corner has always been with her, even when she was at school.

‘It started as a way of escaping the pressures that were put on me as a child. I found freedom in the outdoors as there were no boundaries.

'I was good at sport and participated in all kinds of events, but I always struggled with the concept that I was on a pitch with imaginary boundaries when behind them lay the horizon. I really couldn’t understand why I was confined when what I really wanted to be doing was exploring the world.’