NI Connections

When he’s not running guided tours around the most obscure parts of the earth, he’s inspiring the masses through keynote speeches at major events.

Or updating his loyal followers around the world on his hugely successful One Step 4Ward blog.

Or building his non-profit organisation Mudita Adventures.

Or running (get this!) ultramarathons in his spare time.

Johnny Ward is a force to be reckoned with. And he’ll go down in history as the first person to ever complete the ‘Ultimate Explorers Grand Slam.’

(Yep, it’s every bit as epic as it sounds.)

It involves travelling to all 197 countries of the world, climbing the seven summits and the highest mountain on every continent. And popping to the North and South Pole too.

What’s even cooler, is that Johnny is one of our own.

Born and bred in Kilkeel, Johnny left the motherland when he was just 18, teaching English in Asia, before deciding to make travelling and blogging his full-time gig.

Since then, he's amassed a loyal following of adventurers the world over and has built an impressive life for himself in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

But when we reached out about a potential partnership, Johnny not only jumped at the chance, but also jumped on a flight back home for the first time in a decade.

Here's some words (and pics) from the man himself…

What was it like being home for the first time in years?

Emotional! More so than I thought. I've recently built a house for my mum in Thailand, so I have very few ties back in NI now sadly. I was so excited to go back and feel that Norn Iron energy again. And actually, it made me miss it more than I thought I had been. I'm planning my return as we speak. It was so lovely. Everyone is so chatty, and supportive. And all my fav foods from my childhood are still going strong. I need a two week fast to get back on the straight and narrow again!

What did you get up to?  

The first thing I wanted to do was go back to Kilkeel, County Down. I spent the first half of my life there. So I asked my school if I could pop in too. I met my old teachers, then met lot of my school friends across a hectic couple of days. I went for a long run around my old town and loitered like a weirdo outside my family home. And then drank in my old pub of course!

What was the highlight(s) of your time in NI?

You know, the weather was banging! For the views, climbing Slieve Donard (NI's highest mountain) was beautiful. For two reasons: I climbed it with my mum, helping her train for her Mount Fuji climb for Parkinson's disease, so that meant a lot. And also, since the last time I climbed it, I've climbed Mount Everest, so to go back to my first ever mountain climb felt special. 

What will you miss most when you get back to Thailand?

The easy chat between everyone. Not just people I know from Kilkeel (although especially that of course), but just the general chitchat people from NI have with you when you're going about your day. I'm sure loneliness must be in low supply back home. Everyone seems to wanna chat!
 

Well, wasn’t that just lovely. And all of us at NI Connections couldn’t agree more. No matter where you go in the world, nothing comes close to the sense of community spirit and top-tier banter you get from people back home. And we’re so glad all of Johnny’s hundreds of thousands of followers around the world got the chance to hear about it.

Check out the ‘Home in NI’ highlight on Johnny’s Instagram to follow along with his adventures and see him answer questions from his followers around the world.  

And while we’re at it, we might as well give our own Instagram a wee plug too. After a brief hiatus, our Instagram is back, bigger than better than ever and we’re loving connecting with so many of our amazing diaspora. Go on, give us a wee follow here.