AMERICAN national park Yellowstone is a place where nature receives a round of applause.

Where the landscape is so vast your breath is whisked away and where the wildlife is truly wild.

I ventured there at the beginning of last month on a two-week adventure with Explore.

Having met the rest of my tour group in Salt Lake City we were driven by our wonderful guide across the Utah border into Idaho before passing through Montana and into Wyoming.

It might be a day in the maxiwagon, but it is full of striking scenery and a visit to the first of many stunning waterfalls.

Each day starts early – for a holiday at least – with breakfast outside our basic wooden huts on a number of well-kept campsites.

One thing you can never be sure of is whether the animals are going to make an appearance, but we were lucky.

On day one in Yellowstone we saw our first elk before 9am and a bison within the next 10 minutes.

Over the two weeks you visit numerous waterfalls, coloured water pools, dramatic rock formations and seemingly never-ending landscapes.

This has always been my dream destination so it risked failing to live up to expectations. However, anyone who has been will know there is no chance of leaving disappointed.

As your tour moves out of Yellowstone and heads into Grand Teton and later into Arches national park you are constantly confronted by nature at its finest.

There are animals as varied as chipmunks and bald eagles as well as myriad scenic possibilities from waterfalls to canyons.

A walk past some of the area’s most impressive geysers leads you to Old Faithful, which draws applause from spectators as it explodes into life bang on time.

This spontaneous reaction could be dismissed as ‘typically American’ but I can tell you it was deserved.

I took part in all the optional extras including white water rafting, horse riding – western style – and an exhilarating hummer ride.

I would recommend them to anyone as the local characters who will guide you through these experiences will enrich your memory and understanding of this wonderful place.

So, if it is wildlife, adventure and great personalities you are looking for, then Yellowstone is the place for you.

If you are as lucky as we were, then you may even have a close encounter with a bear.

Factfile

Andrew travelled with Explore (explore.co.uk) and flew with American Airlines