But all that travelling will be well worth it if the North Otago captain can hoist the Lochore Cup shortly after 4pm in Oamaru on Sunday.
Clark (28) joined the North Otago squad as a loan player last year and took up the captaincy, but his season was cut short when he suffered a bad right-knee injury.
The injury may have set him back when the 2014 season rolled around, but it means Clark is still relatively fresh compared with some of his team-mates and some of his Wanganui rivals on Sunday.
''I played three or four club games for Maheno, and then Heartland, so I've really only played 14 or 15 games this year. I'm just starting to get into it, really,'' Clark said.
Due to playing club rugby for Maheno this season, the former Pirates loose forward is no longer considered a loan player, making him eligible for selection in the New Zealand Heartland XV.
''At the start of the year, that was my goal, so that all worked out all right,'' he said.
Clark gained instant respect from his team-mates last year when he was asked to take up the captaincy, and it is the camaraderie which has made the constant trips between Dunedin and Oamaru less tedious.
''I went up last year and I was a loan player and they asked me to be captain. I didn't know if I wanted to do that as I was already taking somebody's position as a loan player.
''But they welcomed me with open arms. Now all of them are good mates and everyone gets on with everyone. Obviously, the driving is a bit of a pain, but I've got Stephen Fenemor with me and he's got good chat. It's all made everything worthwhile doing, especially making that New Zealand Heartland team. All that travelling has gone out the door.''
Clark, a teacher aide at his old school, King's High School, rated North Otago as a good chance to contest the Meads Cup this year. While a tilt at the top trophy in Heartland rugby has not eventuated, Clark said that was the very nature of the competition.
''I believe we had a better team than last year but we just took a wee bit longer to gel as a team,'' he said.
''Obviously, we'd rather be playing in the final of the Meads Cup but any silverware is good silverware so, hopefully, we can take the Lochore Cup.
''All the teams this year are way better than what they've been in previous years, so we've got to take that into account. Even though we've had a disappointing season, [the other] teams have been pretty good.''
Clark promises a physical approach from North Otago in Sunday's game, after Wanganui managed a 20-15 win at home in round-robin play in early September.
''It sounds like that was their best game of the season, so we've just got to play physical.
''For the last couple of weeks, we've been beating teams by being more physical than them. Hopefully, we can get a good crowd there so we can show our supporters and sponsors that we are grateful for them, and we can show some good footy.''
As for a winner in the Meads Cup? Clark would love a Buller win for the fairy-tale aspect, but expects Mid Canterbury to be too strong.
''I think they'll go on to win the Meads Cup. I'd like to say Buller, but I just don't see it.''
