The camel ride that turned into a $100,000 fall into hell

Carol had been anticipating her overseas trip which included stops in Morocco, Paris, New York and Iceland, for more than a decade, and she and travel companion niece Olivia had booked Broadway shows, sporting games and even a camel ride through the Sahara Desert.

Carol said the first leg of their journey in Morocco was "great".

We were really excited about going to the Sahara Desert. I'd ridden camels in China and Jordan, and I've never had any problems whatsoever."

This time was to be different.

"We'd been travelling on the camel for about 20 minutes and the guide asked if I'd like to get off and travel by car and I said, 'yes'. Then for some reason he started pulling at my leg and I started to lose my balance and I just fell off."

According to Olivia, Carol was breathing, but had been completely knocked out and was unresponsive for several minutes. When she came round Carol felt severely nauseous and struggled to sit up.

Emergency services couldn't be contacted because of a lack of reception and Carol was transported by jeep to a nearby camp.

The following morning, Carol's pain levels had escalated, and her guide drove her to hospital where X-rays and CT scans showed six broken ribs, punctured lung, shattered collarbone and fractured wrist.

Carol's travel insurer 1Cover organised transport to a hospital in Casablanca - an eight hour drive by ambulance - where Carol spent two days in ICU and nine days on a ward.

The insurer advised Carol to have surgery on her collarbone in Australia and arranged her repatriation in business class with two nurse escorts.

Several months later, Carol said her lung has healed well due to physical therapy, but she may require follow-up surgery.

"I've got nine screws and a plate in my collarbone," she said.

The cost of Carol's accident came to nearly $100,000 which was fully covered by her insurance policy. This included $80,000 for her repatriation to Australia with round the clock nursing care on the flight. The remainder of Carol's holiday, including her unused flights, accommodation and pre-booked shows and tour fees were also covered.

"I usually always take travel insurance because I nominate other conditions that I need covered. I don't know where I would have been if I hadn't been able to access travel insurance."

Carol and Olivia's joint policy cost $812.

Natalie Smith, spokesperson for 1Cover Travel Insurance, said tourists should do their homework before travelling in remote areas and pick a highly reputable tour company with better access to emergency support systems.