HAVE you ever come face to face with a Tyrannosaurus Rex? Or travelled back in time 67 million years for that matter?

When I stepped into a time machine with my four-year-old nephew I was expecting to be entertained, but I never anticipated returning from the journey enthralled, educated and dying to retell our first experience of dinosaur tourism.

We could hear the roar of the dinosaurs from the Event City car park, they’re somewhat ferocious you know, and moments later we would be journeying back to the Cretaceous Period.

It was the attention to detail at Dinosaurs in the Wild that enticed me, the rocky journey back in time, the Alamosaurus relieving himself outside our vehicle - multi-dimensional visuals and a depth of experience that completely captivated the imagination of my nephew.

But never mind the kid I was with, entering the scientists’ laboratories I was so lost in the experience myself I had to remind myself surely that wasn’t actually an Alamosaurus heart or a real T Rex tooth – or was it?

How did that giant Pachycepalosaurus die? My nephew was asked – luckily enough there was an autopsy at TimeBase 67 during our stay and we enjoyed all the blood and guts that came with finding out.

In what was a completely immersive visit, we entered the hatchery and witnessed the first moments of an incubated Dakotaraptor’s life as it squirmed free of its shell, while baby Triceratops attempted to hatch from theirs.

Dinosaurs are always hungry, including the nocturnal creatures who sleep by day and come to life by night, so try not to not disturb the Ankylosaurus or he might nibble your fingers.

But it was those dinosaurs roaming free in the wild that we really travelled 67 million years back in time to see, and they didn’t disappoint.

The Lookout at TimeBase 67 offers breath-taking panoramic views of the Cretaceous plains outside its perimeters teeming with prehistoric life.

On our dinosaur safari, we skipped from window to window to soak up the breadth of activity among the hordes of prehistoric creatures milling around the water hole.

But if there was ever something to disrupt the harmony of dinosaurs feeding, playing, hunting in their own familiar surroundings, then it is the arrival of an angry band of Tyrannosaurus.

These beasts are not to be bargained with so, taking evasive action, we scuttled back to the future like a real-life Doc and Marty.

Arriving home in the 21st century and returning my four-year-old nephew to his mother, it was almost as if she found our prehistoric tales far-fetched – I guess you had to see it to believe it.