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Venture into the Amazon with Rolex and National Geographic

Dive Into Thomas Peschak’s Photographic Wonders

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Vertiginous mountains wreathed in jungle and shrouded in mist. Joyous riots of green rainforest foliage, so dense that it is almost impossible to glimpse the ground. Dappled sunlight piercing the water to illuminate the curious gaze of a pink river dolphin. A submerged jaguar skull, grinning eerily from the riverbed. The list goes on. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but in the stunning photographs of Thomas P. Peschak, shot for the Rolex and National  Geographic Perpetual Planet Amazon Expedition, each image spans the length of an epic tale, bringing the mysterious watery world of the Amazon River to life.

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National Geographic Explorer and photojournalist Thomas Peschak has been following seven teams of scientists and explorers on the Rolex and National Geographic Perpetual Planet Amazon Expedition to illuminate the diversity and connectivity of the people and wildlife across the Amazon River basin. ©Otto Whitehead/National Geographic

The expedition saw the award-winning photojournalist, marine biologist, and National Geographic explorer immersed in the remote wilds of the Amazon Rainforest for nearly 400 days over two years. Armed with his camera, Peschak aimed to capture the intricacies of aquatic Amazonian biodiversity to raise awareness about the river’s increasingly perilous state. While much research has been conducted on the terrestrial rainforest, comparatively little has been done to monitor the Amazon’s waterways, where damaging factors such as pollution, climate change, and the widespread construction of dams are having a significantly detrimental effect on one of the world’s most precious watersheds.

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Researchers George Antony Muñoz Hermoza and Norma Gionona Momoni Moyto with National Geographic Explorer Ruthmery Pillco Huarcaya in the moss forest near the Wayqecha Biological Station. ©Pablo Durana/National Geographic

“The aquatic underworlds of the Amazon are rarely glimpsed, and almost never documented,” Peschak explains. “So, with the Amazon River in dire need of a spotlight, I hatched an ambitious plan; for 396 days, I would follow the course of the Amazon River across South America, from the Andes all the way to the Atlantic.”

The spirit of discovery

Before long, Peschak’s plan was gaining traction, leading him to join forces with Rolex and the National Geographic Society. As adventurers and watch aficionados alike may know, the two organizations have enjoyed a close partnership since the 1950s. What’s more, Rolex has an even longer history of equipping intrepid pioneers with its versatile timepieces, including Jacques Piccard, James Cameron, and, famously, Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, on their legendary ascent of Mount Everest in 1953. Accordingly, Peschak was outfitted with the brand’s signature Rolex Oyster Perpetual watch, which would accompany him throughout his Amazonian adventures.

“National Geographic is obviously a star in storytelling, and Rolex has been involved in exploration for longer than I’ve been alive,” illustrates Peschak. “There are very few organizations who could have pulled this off, because we really pushed the limits.”

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National Geographic Explorer Angelo Bernardino measures the diameter of a mangrove tree’s trunk. Bernardino recently discovered this unique mangrove forest in the Amazon Delta, the first to be scientifically documented growing in a freshwater environment. ©Corey Robinson/National Geographic

In the jungle

Over the next 396 days, Peschak set out on a vast liquid road. His journey followed the Amazon River from an isolated source in the ice and snow of the Chila mountain range of the Peruvian Andes – a dizzying 5,000 metres above sea level – all the way downstream to the tropical waters of the Caribbean, where the river’s mighty plume meets the ocean.

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An aerial view of ponds and sand piles created by human activity in south-eastern Peru. Similar pools can be found throughout the Amazon and are a clear indicator of the impact that people are having on the ecosystem. ©Musuk Nolte/National Geographic

In other words, the Perpetual Planet expedition was of truly epic proportions. To help put its scale into perspective, Peschak explains that “The 6,400-kilometre-long Amazon River, and its thousands of tributaries, are the lifeblood of the region. Together, they form a giant aquatic web the size of Australia.”

Along the way, the explorer witnessed the ebb and flow of the Amazon River’s seasonal floods. He hacked his way through Bolivian cloud forests, marveled at the flooded forests of the lowlands, dived into the depths of prehistoric waters untouched by man for millennia, and embarked on countless other adventures besides.

As seen through his lens, Peschak’s many underwater exploits reveal a fascinating and beautiful realm teeming beneath the surface of the river. His vivid photographs capture the “flashes of gold” caused by the shimmering scales of the mythical Gold Dorado fish (“which local people often call the ‘river jaguar’”), as well as the elusive pink dolphin, “which are to the flooded forest what the polar bear is to the Arctic tundra”.

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The view across the landscape of Manú National Park in Peru, showing how the clouds engulf the forest below. Cloud forests grow on mountains from altitudes of approximately 2,200 to 3,200 metres and earn their name from the thick fog that covers them year round. ©Pablo Durana/National Geographic

Unsurprisingly, Peschak finds it impossible to single out one experience that was more wondrous or inspiring than the rest.

“I had so many life-changing experiences,” he recounts. “After all, the Amazon Basin is everything from snow capped volcanoes to sponge reefs off the island of Tobago. The landscape of the High Andes is simply out of this world, while the pristine natural world of the hidden headwaters in Bolivia was unforgettable. In terms of alienness, diving in the flooded forests, surrounded by dolphins and sloths, was just amazing.”

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A fresh catch of arapaimas are transported across a floodplain in the Amazon Rainforest, near the Lago Serrado community. Arapaimas are the largest scaled freshwater fish in the world and are under threat. Local community groups have put fishing quotas in place throughout the river, helping the arapaima population increase by over 600 per cent in 15 years. ©André Dib/National Geographic

Shades of adventure

The expedition was, in his own words, “the single most challenging thing I’ve ever done”. Over the course of the 396 days, Peschak’s dedication to his craft was severely tested with everything from altitude sickness and unbearable heat to incensed swarms of stinging bees.

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National Geographic Explorer and photographer Thomas Peschak climbs through Chiribiquete National Park. ©Andy Whitworth/National Geographic

“Nature is in control. I’m just along for the ride,” he says ruefully. “Things change constantly. In addition to being humble, you must be supremely adaptable, able to pivot and alter your plan on a hat’s drop. There were images where I had to travel for two or three weeks just to make a single frame. In that time, you’re suffering. Hot, miserable, losing weight, getting sick… you just want to go home. But the story is so interesting and critical and important that the passion for the narrative drives one through all the misadventures.”

There was also the issue of searching far and wide for clear stretches of river to explore; essential for capturing his many underwater shots: “Most rivers in the Amazon are the colour of chocolate milk. My biggest challenge was finding rivers that were clear and pristine enough to dive in!”

Despite the adverse conditions, Peschak witnessed wonders that most of the world has never seen. One such experience saw him travel to a wild corner of the Colombian Amazon in search of “the storytellers that came before me, the first people to tell visual stories about the Amazon River”. There, he found 19,000-year-old cave paintings thought to have been used in spiritual ceremonies.

“While our mediums may differ—ancient sandstone versus paper or screens—these ancient storytellers and I have a lot in common,” he explains. “They paint to communicate with supernatural beings to ensure harmony between people and the cosmos. I take photographs because our relationship with the natural world—especially the Amazon—is in dire need of recalibration.”

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National Geographic Explorer and photojournalist Thomas Peschak at the expedition team’s campsite in Chiribiquete National Park, reviewing his photos.
©Andy Whitworth/National Geographic

One question remains on timepiece enthusiasts’ lips: how did Peschak fare with his Rolex Oyster Perpetual? Did it hold its own in the darkest depths of the jungle?

“For me, the key features of an expedition watch are ruggedness and reliability,” he replies. “I’ve dragged this baby through the rainforest for the last two-plus years – proper stress testing! It passed with flying colours.”

Though Peschak is an oceanographer at heart—having gleefully returned to the sea since leaving the Amazon behind—he has been surprised by the profound impact the freshwater expedition left on him.

“The Amazon has changed me,” he agrees. “It is my hope that by shining a spotlight on this neglected underwater realm, other storytellers, especially local ones, will continue to share aquatic narratives throughout the Amazon basin. My relationship with the Amazon is far from over.”

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