We Love Rum and Kelly Kettles!

Well really we love anything to do with fire... We love axes and saws, matches, lighters, flint and FUEL.

Our favorite thing for lighting fires is... Stroh 80% rum! It gets wet wood burning almost as well as it does your throat.

I have also discovered a new found love for my shiney new Kelly Kettle. Firstly it boils the water for our tea, then the   fire inside is tipped out and and built upon to make a loverly roaring fire to warm our faces, dry our socks, cook our dinner and then drink our rum in front of.

 
Above is a picture of it in action, early one frosty morning down in Glen Etive before heading out for a day on the hills. With water from the ice crusted river, the kettle was super quick in boiling me a nice hot cup of tea. I then popped a panful of bacon on the fire and breakfast was soon sizzling away. A perfect start to a lovely day in the sun and snow, after a very cold night in the tent!

Ben

P.S. Please don’t put rum in your kelly kettle. That's what stupid is.

Eoghain's Amazing Trip to BC.

Flew to canada.

Went paddling.

Got trashed in a hole.

Screwed shoulder.

Bought a Longboard.

What is the Big Blue Tree?

Have you ever looked at a river from space? No? Neither have we. But if you sit back, and try to imagine what one looks like...

...it kind of looks like a tree doesn’t it?

The big blue tree isn’t always blue. In fact it has branches of many colours and character which all change with the seasons.

This bigbluetree.com is our new kind of online magazine sort of thing that is a tribute to the rivers that we all love!

Pretentious?

...whilst we’re not using paper: It’s tree friendly too.

www.thebigbluetree.com

Kayaknam.

There are no Vietnamese tales or legends without the revered and mythical animal that is Con Rồng (or the Dragon in English). This winged, powerful and fire spitting creature is regarded as a key element of the Vietnamese mythology and Vietnamese people have for centuries seen in it a supernatural power and blessing. The dragon is seen everywhere even in the Mekong delta. This river born from the Tibetan Plateau runs through six countries before dividing into nine branches or nine dragons to throw itself in the gulf of Cochinchina  or Nam Bộ ). That is why this region of Vietnam is called Cửu Long (or Nine Dragons).

In July 2009 a team of nine British students set forth to Vietnam to explore and navigate the hidden rivers of South East Asia. We present to you the British Universities Kayak Expedition 2009- A hunt for Dragons less paddled:

Check out photos of the crazy adventure in our Kayaknam Gallery.

 

To read about previous BUKE missions, or if your a student at a British University and keen for an epic paddling adventure in 2011, check out www.uniyaker.co.uk.