He Tangata: Jean-Michel Jefferson of Ahipara Tours

Jean-Michel Jefferson, based in Central Otago but the world's his oyster.

I was born in Middlesbrough, where my father was teaching Russian at a girls' high school, but from when I was 2 we started travelling.

Dad's first job overseas was teaching English when he was asked to join the British Council, the cultural arm of the British embassy. We started in Kuwait, then went to Libya, then back to Kuwait, then Algeria, Qatar, Abu Dhabi.

We were in Libya for the revolution. I remember seeing a tank at the local petrol station, and a friend of ours arriving with blood all over him after he'd been bayoneted. It was just in his leg so Mum patched him up and he was okay.

When I was about 8, I had coffee in the Atlas Mountains in Algeria with a Berber jeweller. That was a defining moment, when I became aware of authentic travel. Also in Algeria we did an enormous road trip, driving south over the Atlas Mountains into the Sahara Desert. We saw communities that had barely been visited by travellers. I don't think my parents were especially adventurous, just curious.

In my early 30s, I'd been a director of Price Waterhouse in Russia then I turned up here in New Zealand — my wife's a Kiwi — and I just couldn't get a job. So my wife said, "let's do our own thing" and so we started Ahipara Luxury Travel. But it was tough. For five years we went backwards, thinking we'd lost everything — and five years is quite a long time — then we had five years of holding steady and five of doing really well.

We were happy in Auckland, weren't looking to leave but one day we saw this property and three months later we were here in Central Otago. Lauderdale is beautiful; we live in a mud-brick building from about 1905. We have several schist buildings from the 1850s. There are 14 140-year-old redwood trees and 100-year-old fruit trees, from which I make moonshine. We look out and see snow on the Hawkdun Ranges — and it's brilliant.

Before school gets serious, I can take our children with me on a business trip. I try to do as little business as possible, maybe three-four days and then for two-three weeks we do whatever they want. Business will usually include a trade show in Europe so between there and here there's a fair bit of world. The eldest, Josephine, was curious about cities so we went to LA and got a Mustang convertible and looked at sights. We then went to Texas, to a nature reserve, and did really Texan things. Then we went to then to New York to see BB King live. We tried various food places, we ate in every gelato place in Rome, and saw all the sights before Milan and a quick meeting and Paris.

Number two, Catharina, is a foodie and horse rider, so after a meeting in Istanbul we went to Paris for some brilliant meals, then the South of France to see my family. Then we mustered wild bulls on horseback in the Camargue, a marshy area on the Mediterranean coast, before slipping into the top of Spain to gorge on tapas at the beach.

For our family holidays we love baches, occasionally we do a busman's holiday, to look at luxury accommodation, but what we really like is independence or foraging at the beach.

For a long time, we couldn't afford holidays but one that stands out was New Caledonia. We knew we wanted a combination of sophisticated Frenchness and being totally away from it all so after Noumea, we went 100m from the northernmost point and rented a bach in the middle of nowhere. Pristine white sand and no one around, we ate and drank too much and the locals were genuine and lovely.

I've done some astonishing things but the highlight for me is when you touch people through an emotional experience, and often that happens when we have significant occasions with Maori who've been the heart of our business. We have access to a holy mountain called Titiraupenga. We take clients up there for a powhiri, or have pounamu blessed for honeymooners — and it rocks them to the core.

Further information: See ahipara.com.