We're back! My quads are aching fiercely but after aspirin and Tiger's Balm at least I'm not dying anymore. <g> More on that later.
Hall's Gap is lovely, ruddy great ancient mountains rising out of a plain. You're driving along, it's flat, there's the occasional tree then suddenly - egad! - there's a mountain! <g>
The camp-site was great as well. Situated at the base of some mountains (no idea which ones) and with lots of stuff to keep the bratlings amused. Only took us a couple of hours to set up, which after a 4 hour trip that had taken 6ish hours was a very good thing. We ended up with 5 separate dwellings in all, and I didn't have to share mine with anyone. Hee. True, I couldn't stand up in it but it was cosy, my own little holt... We were right next door to one of the shower/toilet/laundry blocks, too, so sending the brats off for showers wasn't an expedition in itself.
It took us a day to get settled in, not surprisingly, and because we'd squeezed in a food-shop on the way we didn't need to make any forays until friday morning. That's when Soulsis and I went in to Ararat for more supplies, stopping off at a little old cemetery on the way back. That was eerie, reading the headstones while noting the spaces below were human-sized. I'd never noticed before... Anyway, we saw a rabbit there, sheltering in the shade of a family mausoleum. Looked like the cheeky blighters had made burrows under some of the slabs as well. That afternoon we all trooped off to a local Aboriginal Cultural centre (I'll look up the name later) for some boomerang throwing displays and lessons, a puppet-show and lots and lots of information about all sorts of things.
It was very hot the first couple of days we were in Hall's Gap, and there were grass-fires over the other side of the mountains. We watched the smoke from those drift over to our side - interesting.
On saturday morning it was Niki and Soulsis' turn to escape for a little while. :) They went off exploring a 2nd-hand/antique place while I stayed behind to keep an eye on the brats. When they got back Niki and I nipped into Hall's Gap proper for a look, and a cup of coffee and then when we got back we rounded up everyone and went for a drive up one of the mountains.
I love mountains, I love being on top of them but I'm no mountaineer. The walk to the Pinnacle was described as 'strenuous'... Soulsis commented it should've been listed as 'challenging'. As I was struggling back down I wondered how the hell I'd got as far as I did! Steep, rocky, treacherous footing with hand-rails in places for safety. Gah. My heart was hammering with exertion on the way up, and my legs were shaking with fatigue on the way down - such is the fitness of Lutra. I didn't make it to the top either, though the others did and apparently I was only a little short of the distance. I was a bit annoyed with myself though - I was so close, why didn't I finish it? What sort of wuss was I? <bg> The sort of wuss who knows when she's beaten and isn't going to risk physical injury when the only way down in that instance would've been by rescue-helicopter. Needless to say I was a wreck by the time I'd straggled with Soulsis' help back to the car - hence the aspirin and Tiger's Balm - and we all crawled off into our tents early that night.

Packing up to come home took 3 hours but while we were in the middle of it we got compliments for both our efficiency and for our children being so quiet during the stay given how many of them there were. :) (And let me say that our kids were so much better behaved than some others that were there.)
Anyway, on the way home Soulsis and I paid a quickish visit to the Chinese Heritage Museum in Ararat (I'll look up the name later) which was fascinating, I love buildings with internal courtyards.
But now we're all home safely, if still aching in my case, and I am sooo looking forward to sleeping in my own bed...