The Questionnaire
Avi Duckor-Jones
Not eating anything but rice and beans for 40 days paid off in the middle of last year for Avi Duckor-Jones, who became the first winner of Survivor New Zealand.
The Wellingtonian won $100,000 in July after he defeated 15 others on the Nicaragua-set reality series, with his fellow contestants praising the morals he displayed on his way to victory.
Now, the son of celebrated Kiwi author Lloyd Jones, who penned Mr Pip, and nephew of businessman Sir Bob Jones, is back in the limelight with a new documentary set to screen on TVNZ OnDemand this week.
What are you plugging right now?
My web series Avi’s Return to Ghana is premiering on Tuesday on TVNZ On Demand, which I’m really excited about! The series follows my journey back to Ghana to try and find all the students that I taught two years ago. And of course, Survivor season 2, which I can’t wait for!
What’s your idea of perfect happiness?
A trip out to coast, the day spent swimming, surfing and scrambling through the bush, the night spent cooking for friends with lots of wine and music and dancing.
Which living person do you most admire and why?
Anyone who is devoting their lives to doing good work, even though it might be hard and scary at times. Also, every parent who is working really hard to support their kids.
What’s your most embarrassing moment?
Oh, there are so many! I think I thought I was a cat for a period of time at primary school ... A pretty feral one, too – I did eat a couple of meals under the table…
What is your most prized material possession?
My journals and the woven kente cloth my students gave me when I left Ghana the first time. And all the kids’ books my Mum has kept.
What is the most adventurous thing you have done that has taken you out of your comfort zone at the time?
Spending nine months on an isolated coast in Ghana, hitchhiking around Mexico… or getting a regular job. Probably the latter.
What gets your back up?
People who have staunch, hurtful, hateful and unbudging opinions
If you could time-travel, where would you go and why?
Pre-colonised Aotearoa, to hear the birds and learn some things.
What life-lesson would you pass on to your children?
Be grateful, be kind and have fun.
What job would you do other than your own – and why?
I’ve often wished I was a builder or a carpenter. I’d love to be able to build things and use my hands more. Whenever I have worked as a gardener or landscaper, I’ve felt the most accomplished, exhausted and happy.
If you were given three wishes by a magic genie, what would they be?
No poverty No plastic No guns.
❚ Avi’s Return to Ghana
premieres on Tuesday on TVNZ On Demand.