SURVIVOR NZ WINNER AVI ‘BEING A DAD IS THE REAL CHALLENGE!'

The reality TV champ and his fi ancée Briar introduce their beautiful boy Solly

- SEBASTIAN VAN DER ZWAN

Ask Survivor NZ winner Avi DuckorJones what’s tougher – being a new dad or surviving 40 days in the jungles of Nicaragua – and the answer isn’t immediately clear.

“Oh, man, they’re both so challenging and rewarding in their own ways!” the Wellington-born author and teacher laughs. “I guess Survivor was just a short chapter of time, but it was a very intense experience and the fact I won doesn’t take away from the difficulty.

“In terms of fatherhood, I’ve made it to the end of 40 days, but it doesn’t stop and I’m still getting used to it. During that newborn phase, where there’s no sleep, I was definitely in survival mode. I didn’t know what I was doing. But it’s just so wonderful bearing witness to a life that’s unfolding before your eyes, and celebrating all the changes and growth.”

Now based on Waiheke Island, Avi and his fiancée Briar Hale, both 36, welcomed their son Solomon in July, in between Auckland’s two lockdowns. “It’s been such a wildly strange year and we’ve had our own life-changing experience amongst it all,” he tells Woman’s Day.

“We say this acknowledging the huge amount of suffering so many people went through, but the lockdowns really worked for us. It was like extended parental leave. We got to spend a lot of time together, walking and eating well, just being really quiet and nesting, which was wonderful.”