As I stared into the horizon, the sky cast an intense purple glow around the ruby monolith, which changed colors like a chameleon to bold orange and brilliant blue. It was a balmy evening in this arid bushland as my group honored the 800-million-year-old Ayers Rock with a champagne toast at sunset.

Surrounded by miles of barren wasteland in the center of Australia, I felt as if I had landed on another planet. It's difficult to fathom that three-quarters of this continent is uninhabitable, except for the fauna and flora dating back hundreds of millions of years. Perhaps that is why Australia's 20 million people live between Sydney and Melbourne.

I was on an adventure with 10 other travelers, including two families with teens, organized by OAT for a 17-day trek through the outback and beyond. Exploring this rugged country for the first time introduced me to an earthy, raw beauty of highly diverse terrain — from scarlet sand dunes and mammoth rock formations (similar to Sedona, Ariz.) to a profusion of rare, exotic plants and birds combing the dense rain forests. It was surreal to be part of the world's largest underworld exhibiting larger-than-life coral, clams, and giant turtles.

Just days before, we were outside of Adelaide on the southwestern coast at Cleland Wildlife Park, eye-to-eye with koalas, wallabies, emus, and kangaroos in their natural habitat.

From Adelaide we flew to Alice Springs, heart of the aboriginal culture and known for Australia's first telegraph station, built in 1871, where indigenous children were raised and educated by missionaries. Our guide Alec was one of these children. He taught us to throw a boomerang and even play a didgeridoo, a large wooden instrument creating a deep, foghorn sound.

We were warned not to take photos of Aborigines who believe their image dies when they die. However, we were able to take photos at the Yipirinya School, a non-profit facility supporting children from kindergarten to secondary level. The school provides education, and some food and clothing, for the most disadvantaged children in and around Alice Springs.

A memorable part of the tour was reading to 5-year-old Bianca, a barefoot Aborigine child who loved counting aloud. She was fascinated with her image on my digital camera.

We had an optional half-day outback tour through the East MacDonald ranges inhabited by lizards, snakes, wild passion fruit, wild frogs, spinifex (dry grass-like shrubs), and the perentie, the world's largest lizard living indigenous to this area.

Our guide Lindsay, of aboriginal heritage, emphasized how marriages are arranged by skin color, as he compared the Waripirit and Arrernte tribes.

Guys don't shudder, but there is a traditional aboriginal ceremony where boys 12 and 13 go into the bushes unclothed and get circumcised with a razor or sharp stone without painkillers and also have a tooth knocked out — all to prove their manhood.

We continued to Corroboree Rock Reserve learning about the spirits and customs, meandering through caves to view ancient paintings. As we journeyed through Jessie and Emily Gaps Nature Reserve, Lindsay reiterated the Dreamtime legends of spirits traveling over land, mountains, and water carving out these rock formations.

At end of day, we arrived at Amoonguna Aboriginal Community to experience artists painting and some traditional outback snacks of belly tea and damper bread. That evening, our tour leader Vince cooked up a bountiful barbecue of tender kangaroo and camel meat.

The following morning, we took a bus ride to Uluru (Ayers Rock) and Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) a sculpted masterpiece dating back millions of years. The Olgas are even more spectacular from the helicopter ride that several of the tour members took. Here, our local guide Martin, a former high school teacher, led us through the Olgas pointing out the ancient cave paintings and dwellings revealing the myths of the Mala people.

Many visitors attempt to climb the sacred Uluru. Though many succeed, it has been told that some have fallen to their death because of the steep, smooth surface that can be treacherous on the way down. We were not encouraged to climb. However, I did attempt it a short way but turned around knowing it would be hard on my knees, though a father and daughter from the group managed to make the climb safely. I chose instead to take the six-mile trek around Ayers Rock to view some ceremonial sites and cave dwellings.

After two days in the Central Bushlands, we flew to Cairns to the warmth and tropical greenery with surroundings rich in African tulips, hibiscus, eucalyptus, and giant ferns. We drove an hour to the posh town of Port Douglas and our hotel Sea Temple with its palatial entranceway. This stop served as a gateway to the Great Barrier Reef — a massive marine park along the northeastern coast with a network of about 2,900 reefs and some 1,500 species of fish.

We spent a full day on the Wavedancer catamaran exploring the waters of the Low Isles, a low wooded area covered by mangroves. The day's outing included snorkeling, swimming, and coral viewing from a glass bottom boat skirting over giant turtles and clams. Lunch on board was a satiating buffet of seafood and salads.

The next day, we arrived at Cape Tribulation, where the rainforest meets the reef. The jungle foliage created a labyrinth of lushness which we were further explored with our ecologist and guide Piggy, so nicknamed because of his years of research with pigs in the region.

"A cat bird. Did you see it? There goes a double-eyed fig parrot," yelled Piggy, as he led us through the dense Daintree Rainforest, home of the giant fan palms and ferns, and cassowary birds. Piggy warned us that most of the plants, which are older than the dinosaurs, are inedible, so it would be difficult to survive in this habitat.

Before leaving the area, we cruised through Coopers Creek searching for crocodiles — and spotted two.

My adventurous spirit was aroused, and John and his two sons Steven and Ryan and I opted to go jungle surfing or zip lining through the rainforest canopies.

I held my breath and could almost feel my stomach drop when I slid off the platform some 70 feet above the ground and dangled on the cable line high above the treetops and streams, with a bird's-eye view of the aqua bay. Just when I thought I had faced my ultimate fear, I was told to hang upside down and wrap my feet around the cable and let go of both arms over my head. I thought this was typical Aussie humor, until I realized it was not a joke.

I managed to get into position but only let go of one arm, while I zipped across to the final station. This was definitely exhilarating enough and the grand finale to my sightseeing through the natural terrain of Australia.

IF YOU GO

OAT's 17-day Ultimate Australia Tour includes Melbourne, Adelaide, Ayers Rock, Great Barrier Reef, Cape Tribulation, and Sydney. Includes flights via Quantas Air. For more information, call 1-800-873-5628 or visit online www.oattravel.com.

Hotels: Adelaide — Chifley on South Terrace, 226 South Terrace, 0011-618-8223-4355; Ayers Rock — Outback Pioneer Lodge, Ayers Rock Resort, 001 612-9339 1078; Melbourne — The Crossely Hotel, 51 Bourke Street, 61 3 963 6639; Port Douglas — Sea Temple, Mitre Street, 61 7 4084 3500; Cape Tribulation — Ferntree Rainforest Lodge, Cape Tribulation Road, Mossman, 011 617 4098 0083, Sydney — Metro Hotel Sydney, 300 Pitt Street, 011 612 9283 2825.

Beverly Mann is a freelance travel writer. To find out more about Beverly Mann and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2008 CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.

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