JEAN-MICHEL JEFFERSON IS THE FOUNDER OF AHIPARA LUXURY TRAVEL, AN INNOVATIVE DESTINATION MANAGEMENT COMPANY BASED IN NEW ZEALAND. WITH A FOCUS ON UNIQUE, MEANINGFUL EXPERIENCES THAT INCORPORATE FUNDAMENTAL MAORI VALUES, AHIPARA ARE CONSTANTLY SEEKING NEW WAYS TO PUSH BOUNDARIES WHEN CREATING THEIR TRANSFORMATIONAL, TAILOR-MADE JOURNEYS.
Connection Is what we do. Connection to New Zealand, to THE carefully selected people our clients meet, to special places and ultimately back to yourself.
THREE QUESTIONS WITH JEAN-MICHEL
Where is your favourite place in New Zealand and why?
‘This is a very difficult question as we work hard to bring out the essence of each region and find the best characters to present and connect, so they are all favourites for different moods and I have fallen in love with each of them through this process.
The Taupo region has a special place in my heart though as this is the region where we connect people with Maori and unsurprisingly, it is also the heart chakra of New Zealand.’
Your dream travel companion - living or dead?
‘Nick Samuels. Fun, outrageous, sensitive, professional, open-minded and adventurous. We'd get in a lot of trouble together, have the best time, and get the work done.’
If you could travel to any time in the past, where would you go?
‘To Maori pre-history, when waka arrived much earlier than official history suggests. The start of the marriage of people and land when traditions were ingrained in order to reappear when needed, in honour of the sacred union of the land and of the people.’
“‘The three most important things in life? The people, the people, the people.’
– MAORI PROVERB