The Pack Track

Welcome

In February 2014, we set out to travel around the world on motorcycles with our dog Skyla. While friends and family wished us the best, many believed our plan was crazy, if not impossible. There were questions about our abilities as riders, there was concern around the safety of many of the countries we wanted to visit, and there were doubts as to whether any of this could be done with a dog on board.

To be fair, the early days of our journey did present considerable challenges as we navigated a long list of unknowns and unexpected hurdles. Despite these difficulties however, there was always an element of excitement and satisfaction in overcoming each day, each border crossing, each motorcycle breakdown. In fact, every time we encountered an obstacle, something wonderful seemed to happen, thanks to the kindness of complete strangers we met along the way. Over time these experiences transformed our perception of the world, teaching us that it wasn't "us against them" as we tried to achieve an impossible goal. It was quite the opposite in fact, that people everywhere were generous with their time and resources, curious about our plans and eager to help us succeed.

Our two year trip around the world morphed into an epic, ten year long adventure. We’ve crossed 108 countries and continue to be awed by the beauty and diversity of this planet. Though much has changed since we first left home - the most significant being that our pack has grown to include three dogs - and despite the wear and tear on us (and our motorcycles!) that comes with so many miles and experiences, we remain steadfast companions, committed not just to each other but to our shared dream of seeing the world our way.

Our hope now is to share our journey. That others will be inspired by our determination, good humour and perseverance, and that they will witness the power of connection we have experienced over every mile we have travelled.

Meet the Pack

🇦🇺 Stu 🇦🇺

Stu Clarke is an experienced adventurer and motorcycle rider with a passion for pet travel. With over 100 countries under his belt, Stu has travelled extensively with his dogs, inspiring others to do the same. With a Bachelor of Science, Honours Degree in Nuclear Physics, as well as a Bachelor of Engineering with Honours, Stu has a strong academic background, which he previously used in his role as an Engineer in the Australian Navy. Nowadays, Stu's focus is on adventure travel and encouraging others to explore the world with their furry friends.

🇦🇺 Janell 🇦🇺

A passionate animal lover, skilled off-roader and full-time adventure rider Janell approaches every day with a can-do attitude. Fearlessly taking on any challenge is second nature to Janell, whether navigating harsh terrain, working through breakdowns in remote and hostile places or finding creative solutions to unexpected obstacles. Her background as a Civil Engineer complements her adventurous spirit by providing her with a unique skill set. Janell famously prioritises putting others first, but never before her girls.

🇦🇺 Skyla 🇦🇺

Skyla was our first love, we adopted her in Canberra, Australia, from the pound. She was a Staffy Cross, about 6 months old, and we had 7 crazy, beautiful years with her. She was a very anxious dog which we did our best to manage, the Pillion Pooch was designed to keep her comfortable and safe in the big wide world and she loved to ride. Skyla passed away in Venezuela after a noble fight with cancer. Skyla was brave and beautiful.

🇨🇴 Shadow 🇨🇴

Shadow may be small but she’s ready to take on the World and she has a heart of Gold. Whatever her early years, she was destined to join our pack. She ran on to the road in rural Colombia and was hit by a car, she lost an eye but gained a pack that day. In no time at all she was on a plane to Florida, touring the USA, then aboard the QM2 sailing to England. Always 9 countries behind Weeti, Shadow is courageous and kind.

🇻🇪 Weeti 🇻🇪

Weeti is our quirky Venezuelan street dog from El Callao. She had a tough start to life being hit by a truck and subjected to continued bullying by cruel individuals. Her rescuers, Luis and Alicia, however were wonderful and never gave up on her recovery, they are the reason she walks today. Weeti was about 2 years old when she joined our pack. It wasn’t planned, it just happened and she rose to the challenge. Weeti is loyal and strong.

🇹🇷 Azra 🇹🇷

Azra is our Turkish delight. We picked her up on the highway near the Dardanelles Strait in western Turkey. A puppy around 6 weeks with no mother or home in sight we took her with us. But before she could join our pack she had to fight for her life against Parvo Virus, a deadly virus with a mortality rate of 90% for untreated cases. Azra is full of energy and her favourite activity is unpacking our clothes bag. Azra is the mischievous member of our pack.

108 Countries Visited

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Latest Dog Blogs

Iraq

Iraq

by Stu and Janell Clarke

We had conducted extensive research on the options for getting us, our motorbikes and the dogs from Europe to Jordan. Jordan had been on our itinerary since the beginning of our travels, being a very tourist friendly country with so many great ancient sites, varied landscapes and of course the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth at a staggering 430m below sea level. It was a place that fascinated us and begged us to visit. Financial limitations had prevented us from visiting when we were just next door in Egypt back in 2017, but it was decided that it would become part of our Asia leg. Now in a slightly better financial situation, we assessed our options as follows: Shipping the bikes to Aqaba, Jordan Shipping the bikes to Israel Ride through Iran and Saudi Arabia Ride through Iraq Ferry to Lebanon and transit through the south of Syria The two shipping options were discounted immediately due to cost and practicality, had there been no other options then we would have given the d...

Turkey & Azra

Turkey & Azra

by Stu and Janell Clarke

We got more than we bargained for in our travels through Turkey. After a few days on the Gallipoli peninsula visiting the battlefields of the Anzacs (Australian and New Zealand Army Corp) and the city of Troy our plan was to continue riding along the Mediterranean coast to stay in the warmer climates. Not far outside of Çanakale a very young puppy crossed the road in front of Janell on the motorway. It was very unusual even in Turkey to see such a youngster alone and on a busy motorway so we had to stop and check. She was so tiny, a little black fluffy (but quite dirty) ball, and appeared to be no more than 6 weeks old. Somehow she had found herself in the medium strip (wide gutter) between the two flows of traffic. We searched everywhere for her mum knowing that at her age she would still be dependent and could not have ventured far. After an extensive search of the area and seeing that she was very different to any other street dog in the area, or from what we’d seen in Turkey in ...

Cyprus

Cyprus

by Stu and Janell Clarke

December weather in Turkey was cold and the majority of the country was covered in snow. Google Maps wanted to direct us inland via the shortest route over the mountains through the thick of it but travelling on motorbikes with our girls, we were happy to take the longer coastal route to keep to the mild climate and low elevations. The Turkish coastline was stunning and really surprised us. The water on our right was a tropical shade of aqua blue and the islands so perfectly spaced with the odd fishing settlement dotted along the way. On our left were rolling hills and we often came across these sceneries from a slight elevation, providing an optimum vantage point to really accentuate the setting. For the most part the quality of the road was up to European standards so we could concentrate on the views and not the road or traffic. All this combined with the better preserved and less visited of the “Ancient Greek” sites, Turkey quickly made its way into our top five countries and a ...

Nordkapp

Nordkapp

by Stu and Janell Clarke

We set off on our adventure to Norway and the Arctic Circle from the UK in mid June with a tight timeframe of 2.5 weeks to go up and back, fitting into work holidays. Round trip the distance was estimated to be 8,000km with some of the most rugged and beautiful coastlines in the world. This journey along the Norwegian coast would take us well into the Arctic Circle where the snow capped mountains were illuminated by sunlight 24 hours a day. The weather however, was far from on our side with heavy rain and strong winds becoming part of our daily struggle. We set off from the UK early afternoon on Wednesday. We’d booked a late train to take us under the English Channel to France and the ride should have been an easy 4 hours. However, the rain had set in and the traffic was building on the M25, we were crawling along and starting to stress about making the train. Our goal for that first day was to reach the Netherlands but it quickly became apparent that we’d set our goals too high. We...