Janelle and Pierre Champagnat

MADDY HARKER

For free spirits Pierre and Janelle Champagnat, a move from Auckland to Wanaka and a serendipitous business opportunity have enabled the couple to live a simpler life.

Pierre and Janelle are the representatives for three European ski products here in New Zealand: the Yooner (a sit-ski), the Wingjump (the world's first pair of wings designed to enhance skiing), and the Skiddie (a pocket-sized wheel you can attach to your ski tips so they don’t have to be carried).

The couple are bringing these "ski thrills” to New Zealand to offer something different, something quirky, to New Zealand snowsports lovers. Their business motto is "why zig when you can zag?”, pointing out there are "too many ziggers in this world”.

Pierre and Janelle describe themselves as unconventional; they don’t strive for success in the traditional sense.

"Our top value is actually freedom - it’s important to us. We have the freedom of this beautiful place for a start,” Janelle said. "We don’t see success as what a lot of people see success as. To us freedom and not having an attachment to material things, that’s really important. We like the simplicity of our lives and having the choice to live our lives our way.”

The couple moved to Wanaka in January without a plan for work, but the perfect opportunity presented itself in Yooner.

For Pierre, moving to Wanaka felt like returning home: he grew up in Annecy, a town in southeast France which sits on the northern tip of Lake Annecy and is surrounded by mountains.

Annecy’s resemblance to Wanaka is uncanny.

"It’s very similar to Wanaka in a lot of ways, and both places have something very majestic about them. It was the word that first came to mind when I came here: majestic,” Pierre said.

Pierre and Janelle are already well integrated into the local community: They’re members of the Chamber of Commerce, Cube Entrepreneurship Series, Wanaka Ski Club, the "Newish to Wanaka” Facebook page and more.

"We felt incredibly welcomed by the community when we got here,” Janelle said. "We love new people and new things, so getting to know people hasn’t been hard for us.”

Like many recent Wanaka arrivals, the pair moved from Auckland on a whim in search of a simpler life.

"Last year we didn’t intend on moving anywhere, but Wanaka came to mind,” Janelle said. "We came to visit and just knew in our gut that it was right.”

The pair met on a blind date in Auckland in 2013. Pierre, who has two children, is trained as a chef, and ran Pyrenees Cafe in Auckland before moving South. Janelle, as well as being a mother of six, is a writer who has also worked as a life coach.

Pierre grew up in the mountains, skiing, working as a ski instructor, and having all sorts of outdoor adventures, so the switch from running a cafe to spending every day on a skifield promoting ski products was pretty ideal.

"The mountain has always been a big part of my life. And now Cardrona skifield is my office every day.”

Moving to Wanaka gave Janelle and Pierre the chance to slow down and reconnect with their values, they say.

"It’s a completely different rhythm here,” Janelle said.

PHOTO: Wanaka App