For Rosolie, this is a significant achievement for his passion, the conservation of the Amazon rainforest.
From the first page he catches our attention with his incandescent description of that moment when he learns of the remote and unexplored region watered by the Madre de Dios (Mother of God) River. The name itself I found unexpectedly moving, as if in some way it was to hold some salvation for the human greed and destructiveness that is rapidly destroying the rainforest.
Rosolie writes of this destruction and exploitation, funded by governments and big business, of building the TransAmazon Highway through virgin forest. This allows the logging, legal and illegal, of native hardwoods, used largely to build furniture for northern European homes. This road construction results in subsequent ''fishbone'' development, side roads made as people move in, cut down more forest and attempt to farm these laterite soils.
Rosolie joins an established but underfunded research facility run by British biologist Julie and her partner JJ, beginning his education in all aspects of rainforest conservation. Over time, he journeys deeper and deeper into the forest, accompanied and on his own, encountering massive anacondas, jaguars, peccaries and countless other species of plant and animal, together with a certain anteater baby, Lulu, for light relief.
Taking appalling risks, he finally travels into the deepest and quite unexplored area alone, an endeavour that has swallowed up many men before him, bodies never found.
At every stage, I found this book troubling, illuminating and quite spellbinding, and also hopeful that action is being taken to conserve one of our greatest unique ecosystems.
- Margaret Bannister is a retired Dunedin psychotherapist and science teacher.
