Junior Tough Guy and Gal Challenge: Hawke’s Bay tamariki tackle muddy obstacle course

Riley Miller (left), 11, from Taradale Intermediate, with Chloe Miller, 7, from Arthur Miller school, and Riley Smith from Taradale Intermediate at the Junior Tough Guy and Gal Challenge at Clifton Station. Photo / Paul Taylor

There was no shortage of mud and plenty of smiles at Hawke’s Bay’s Clifton Station on Thursday as Hawke’s Bay school kids got a taste of New Zealand’s most notorious mud run.

School kids dipped, dived and weaved through a muddy odyssey on Hawke's Bay's Cape Coast on Thursday. Photo / Paul Taylor

The Junior Tough Guy and Gal Challenge was a customised kids’ version of the adult events held in Wellington, Rotorua and Auckland. It saw tamariki up to Year 8 take on either a 1.5km or 3km muddy obstacle course.

Kids dived, weaved and dipped through swamp crossings, a spider’s web net climb, native bush trails, tunnels, hurdles, a climbing frame, and water crossings.

Youngsters from across Hawke's Bay turned up for the Junior Tough Guy and Gal Challenge at Clifton Station on the Cape Coast. Photo / Paul Taylor

Mud was the show’s star, with plenty of kids helping each other get unstuck.

All the competitors received a special finisher medal for their participation and were treated to a hot shower and food for purchase at the end of their journey.

Getting stuck in the mud was a common occurrence at the Junior Tough Guy and Gal Challenge. Photo / Paul Taylor

Hawke’s Bay Today photographer Paul Taylor was there to capture the action.