In 2009, Janell and Stu Clarke started taking motorcycle trips around Australia with their dog Skyla and were keen to expand their horizons.
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“I kind of tried to go backpacking when I was 18 but I was too young. It was always something I really wanted to do. I was waiting until my commitment to the navy was finished,” said Stu, who once worked as an engineer in the Australian navy, to CNN Travel.
When he left the navy in 2014, the couple decided that in addition to finally being time to get out and see the world, they would see everything “all at once”. According to them, one of the main reasons they chose to take a long trip was the cost of flights to and from Australia.
“We figured once you get out of Australia, you better stay out as long as you can. Because it’s very expensive to leave Australia,” Stu explained. Although they initially intended to travel for only six months, this was extended to 18 months and then two years as they made plans.
But, neither of them could bear the idea of leaving Skyla behind for so long. When the couple pondered the possibility of taking her with them, they soon realized that “it wasn’t so impossible” and started preparing for a world tour with their dog.
“[The planning] was all around Skyla. We had the import permits completed for her to enter all the countries we intended to go to. We wanted to make sure she was completely covered.”
But as their epic motorcycle journey approached, the Clarkes were devastated when their beloved pet was diagnosed with cancer. Skyla received chemotherapy and underwent a bone marrow transplant and was ultimately deemed healthy enough to make the trip.
“Although the odds were against her, we had every reason to believe she could live a full, happy and healthy life,” said Janell, a civil engineer. In February 2014, they flew from Australia to Dallas, Texas, where they would start the trip.
They bought two motorcycles in Texas and began the journey in March, with Skyla traveling alongside them comfortably in a motorcycle dog carrier they designed themselves to meet her needs.
“She was our number one concern. Our main focus before we left was to ensure she was comfortable,” added Janell.
As they made their way towards Mexico, Janell and Stu tried to leave the stress of Skyla’s illness behind and focus on the gigantic journey ahead.
However, shortly after crossing the border into Mexico, they discovered that Skyla’s cancer had returned and there was nothing they could do for her.
“At that time, our only option was […] to spend as much time as possible with her, giving her the best quality of life possible,” Janell recounted.
They continued crossing Mexico to Central America, going through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, where they crossed the border into Panama.
As soon as they arrived in Panama, they took a ferry to South America to avoid having to put Skyla in a crate for a flight. As they entered the continent, Skyla’s condition worsened and the couple prepared for the inevitable.
“We were surrounded by people doing their best to help us and take care of Skyla. But we really felt very far from home at that time. It was a tough time.”
When Skyla passed away in Venezuela on September 10, 2014, the couple was so devastated that they considered packing up and returning to Australia. “I just wanted to go home. It felt like everything was over. I was very, very upset,” Janell admitted.
They decided to take some time out and went hiking in the mountains of Venezuela to “get away from it all” and give themselves some time to reflect.
“All we needed to do was pack our bags and hike and not think too much. It was a really good way of grieving.”
After the hike was over, they took a few more weeks to process things, before finally deciding to continue.
Just before leaving Venezuela, the couple went back to visit the vet who treated Skyla in her final days and asked if they could meet Weeti, a mixed breed, whose blood had been donated to their pet during a transfusion.
From Venezuela, they continued through South America, driving to the end. As they went through Colombia in August 2015, they picked up their second rescue dog, Shadow.
The Clarkes picked up their third rescue dog, Azra, also a mixed breed, when she ran into the road in front of them as they were riding through Turkey in December 2021.
Now, after leaving Australia with one dog, the couple is preparing to end the journey nearly 10 years later with three completely different dogs. “They’re all black and they’re all girls,” noted Janell.
The couple launched a small business selling their redesigned dog motorcycle carrier, the Pillion Pooch, aimed at small and medium-sized dogs, a few years back.
Now coming to the end of their long journey of nearly a decade, Janell and Stu have traveled 240,000 kilometers and covered 108 countries.
The couple is preparing to ship their motorcycles to the United States, where they will spend a few months gathering documentation and making the necessary arrangements that will allow them to return to Australia in early 2024 with their dogs.
They deliberately chose to fly from the United States so that they and their pets could travel directly to Australia.
“We want to do a trip around Australia, because we’ve never done that on motorcycles. I think that would be a nice way to end the trip,” said Janell.
“To do a tour around our own country with the girls on the bikes and then retire. Retire the bikes and retire the girls.”
