The secret club for WILD WOMEN

From battling sharks to escaping pirates and discovering untouched caves, female adventurers have some spine-chilling stories to tell. Alley Pascoe infiltrates the exclusive society for intrepid explorers to hear their tales

- Alley Pascoe

Behind an unassuming gate in Copenhagen’s trendy Nyhavn district is a hidden, cobblestoned alleyway. Down the alleyway is a heavy wooden door flanked by a nautical compass coat of arms. Behind the door is the clubhouse of the most exclusive, invitation-only society in Europe: The Adventurers’ Club of Denmark.

Inside, a portrait of three Aboriginals from Central Australia hangs on the wall; the image shows an uncle dripping blood from his arm onto his nephew to give him strength during an initiation process. To the left is an image of a five-year-old Papua New Guinean girl with amulets around her neck including a dried human hand. In the corner is the skin of a polar bear, surrounded by spears, shields and arrows collected from tribes around the world. In the middle of the room is an enormous round table built from the wooden transport box that delivered an elephant to the Copenhagen Zoo. It’s carved with the names of the members of The Adventurers’ Club as a rite of passage. Well, the names of the male members...