Andrew Bayly went to Antarctica in 2012. Photo: Supplied
Andrew Bayly still remembers the "visual assault" of Antarctica, the piercing blue clarity and scale-bending brightness.
The National MP tells how he once convinced his companions to join him on what he thought would be a short trip to climb a nearby peak. They borrowed skis, promised they would be back for lunch and set off.
Instead, the trek stretched for hours, across a crevasse field and then up a seemingly endless slope. The mountain turned out to be 12 kilometres away.
"We didn't get back to the base until late that night," Bayly laughs. "It was just meant to be a little stroll."
Bayly was there for a full month in 2012, climbing mountains, including the continent's tallest peak, Mount Vinson, and another never-before-climbed - the mountaineer's "holy grail".
"It was only three of us. We were miles from anyone," he says. "You know that if you're in trouble, you're really in trouble."
More than a decade on, the landscapes have stayed with him, fuelling a personal affinity for the continent and a determination to protect it.
Group photo of attendees at the Antarctic Parliamentarians Assembly in Wellington. Photo: Supplied
In December, Bayly brought politicians, diplomats and officials from overseas to Wellington for a two-day meeting, the third Antarctic Parliamentarians Assembly.
Roughly 40 guests - representing nearly 20 nations - came to hear from scientists, compare notes and take home a clearer sense of what is happening at the bottom of the world.
From ice to influence
Antarctica is governed by a treaty signed in 1959, designating it a natural reserve devoted to peace and science. It explicitly prohibits military bases, weapons testing and new territorial claims.
But that is not to say the continent is free from pressure.
Tourism has surged in recent years. More than 120,000 visitors travelled south last season, six times the numbers seen two decades ago.
"We want to welcome tourists. We want people to go to Antarctica," Bayly says. "The question is: how do you do that in a sustainable way?"
Fishing remains a concern, too. The krill fishery reached its annual catch limit this year for the first time, forcing its shutdown three months ahead of schedule - a warning sign that pressure is rising.
The tiny shrimp-like crustaceans are fundamental to the ecosystem as a primary food source for whales, penguins and seals.
Andrew Bayly at the South Pole. Photo: Supplied
"Certain nations really want to have a go at fishing out the krill," Bayly says. "So, how do we protect ourselves against that?"
And then there is the unmistakable effect of climate change.
On the Antarctic Peninsula, the area of ice-free "greening" has jumped from 86 hectares to nearly 1200 over four decades - the size of a large sheep and beef farm, now exposed land rather than ice.
Research teams are drilling through kilometres of ice to pull up samples that may hold climate records stretching back more than a million years.
"They're going to farm out all those core samples to ... research people around the world, whoever wants them. So, you know, how do you collaborate?"
Bayly says those big questions of conservation and collaboration dominated discussions among the parliamentarians, many of whom arrived with limited knowledge of Antarctica.
"When they go back to their home, we want them to be strong advocates... in an informed way," he says.
Among the speakers was mountaineer Peter Hillary, a moment Bayly says resonated with those visitors familiar with the legacy of his father, Sir Edmund Hillary.
"They love our connection to Antarctica," he says. "They know we've got a leadership position."
The next assembly is already in motion, scheduled for 2027, with Bayly asked to chair the steering committee. Several nations have already put up their hands to host: Norway, China, Italy, Argentina, and potentially more.
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