Best of 2016 The Travel Show

Now on BBC News, Christa Larwood presents the Travel Show

from Australia and looks back at the year so far.

There's only one problem, right?

What's that?

We're on this thing and there's no one to turn it off.

Does that mean we're on here forever?

In a theory that could happen.

Hello and welcome to our special look back

at the past couple of months here on the travel show with me, Christa

Larwood.

We're incredibly lucky to get to see and do such wonderful

things around the world, so it's always difficult to choose our

favourite things to show you again.

But I do hope that you enjoy them.

That was incredible, this guy's a real expert.

Like so many buildings here in Belchite, this church was

completely destroyed during the fighting.

It's a daunting project that will cost at least another 30

million euros to complete.

We can imagine all the walls covered by

frescoes.

This ride is getting bumpier and bumpier,

it's almost like trying to stay on a bucking Bronco.

On the these four acres of land Kenny has used 1000

tonnes of recycled stuff to create 350 works of art.

It's made out of refrigerators.

Made out of refrigerators?

Yeah.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the Spanish

civil war, a conflict that tore the country in two and led to the

autocratic rule of General Franco until well into the 1970s.

The war is still a difficult topic in Spain

and back in June I visited a village that has become a symbol of how

painful it can be to deal with the past.

One place where the scars of the Spanish Civil War are all too

visible is the old village of Belchite in north-eastern Spain.

It's a ruin.

Streets are filled with the remains of buildings that were

blasted to pieces during the war, which started 80 years ago

this month.

Today, Spanish-language tours of the site cater to thousands of

visitors from this country and across the world.

This may be a very popular site for tourists but for

local Spanish people the question of how to memorialise the country's

civil war and fascist past is the subject of fierce debate.

After the death of Franco and his dictatorship

in 1975, Spanish political parties agreed to an informal pact of

forgetting, which meant the country's nationalist past was

widely ignored.

But that's changed in the last decade or so.

In 2007, a law was passed to condemn General

Franco's regime, and honour the victims of the war.

Many have called for a truth and reconciliation

process, like in South Africa, after the end of apartheid.

Still, many believe the past should simply be forgotten,

including powerful symbols, like the ruins of Belchite.

The tourists I met here also believe the site should continue to

be preserved.

As the anniversary of the Civil War approaches, Spain will doubtless

continue to debate how it will remember its past, and perhaps

80 years is still not enough time to bring about a full and frank

national conversation.

But whatever happens, old Belchite will continue

to stand as a striking monument and harsh reminder of what happens

when national arguments turn to violence.

Aiming to heal old wounds in Spain back in June.

In a minute, Raja will be tackling huge sand dunes in China

in a buggy.

But before that, a month ago we delved even further back into

European history when Ade went to Rome to discover how crowdfunding

is coming to the aid of a palace owned by the Emperor Nero

almost 2000 years ago.

Few cities in the world can rival Roma's wealth of artistic heritage.

When you hear, without even trying, you can spot so much history.

But the building I'm most interested in seeing is Nero's Domus Aurea.

Nero's Golden house is so beautiful and it provided the inspiration

for a lot of the architecture here in Rome.

Even some of the paintings and frescoes in the Vatican

copy to Nero's style.

If they can't find the funding to restore Nero's golden house,

a really important part of Rome's history could be lost for ever.

Nero was the fifth Roman Emperor, and the last of the Julio-Claudian

dynasty.

His palace was built between 64 and 68 A.D.,

and it was definitely meant to get the neighbours jealous.

After Nero's death, his palace fell into disrepair

and eventually became buried under eight centuries

of urban development.

That was until 1930 when the sections you can see

today were first excavated.

And it's a daunting project that will cost at

least another 30 million euros to complete.

What was it like, you know, when this was first built?

How did it feel, the sound?

The sound, the entering of the light.

There was light coming in as well? Yes.

And these, these are fantastic. Yes.

We can imagine all the walls covered by frescoes or marble slabs.

What is obvious to me is excavating and preserving

the Palace is a massive task, and it's a real race against time.

So far only 21,000 euros have been raised by a crowdfunding.

Most of that has come from tourists rather than

Romans themselves.

What the project has done is raise awareness of

the urgent need to find new funding models when it comes to excavation

and preservation.

While crowdfunding might not be the total answer to the problem,

it could certainly prove tobe part of the solution.

20% of China's landmass is desert.

And right now we're in one of the world's most

famous, the Gobi.

Up until now there wasn't much use for this land,

then tourism came along with some other ideas.

The desert is 27 square kilometres of soft sand

and hilly dunes, and this is a taste of the fun and games

they are planning here.

A 31 seater wave surfing desert galleon.

If you want something more edgy, there is always this...

Right on the end of this sand dune, I can't believe it!

Very steep hill!

Whoa!

That was incredible, this guy's a real expert,

and we're going right by the side, to the tops of inclines,

I think we're going to fall and we don't.

It's very scary, but I'm in the hands of a good driver,

and that's the best I can hope for.

It's frightening.

Daniel Pu is a local investor who has big plans for the area.

This place was always unique, but now it has been a centre for

the entertainment for the local people.

People meet in sunny days, then enjoy the barbecue,

and do some family activities.

A tourist will come into the gates here, what

will happen?

What will they experience?

At the very beginning this is just empty sand.

It's just that.

This place is nothing.

But with these cars you can enjoy the fun to drive

in the cars, and try different activities to be closer with nature.

The nature doesn't mean just forest and water.

It also means this desert.

Daniel's confident that the growing Chinese middle class will look

to escape the cities and explore the country's nature more.

What kind of tourists can you imagine coming here?

All tourists, actually.

Everyone, when you get here, you will

enjoy a different life.

I think it brings a kind of enlightenment to your own life.

Do stay with us on The Travel Show, because coming up...

That is astonishing!

...We meet an artist living his own version

of the American dream.

How we get men on Mars, people on Mars, isn't

going to happen by how things fit in with other things.

Next up in our look back at the past couple of months here

on The Travel Show we have a couple of conservation stories for you.

In a moment, Carmen finds out how the bears that were once

the inspiration for the Paddington series of books are now

being protected in Peru.

It's incredible to be so close to a bear, which is just there,

a few metres away.

And in Cambodia, Henry joined a patrol that takes on poachers

who prey on local wildlife.

Koh Kong province, a quiet area in the south-west of Cambodia,

an area made up of a vast coastline, partially inaccessible rainforest,

and barely a tourist in sight.

But from this summer travellers will be given the opportunity to pay

to experience what the Rangers on the front line of trafficking

and logging here are dealing with.

That is shocking to say the least.

Look how many chainsaws they've actually commandeered

from these illegal loggers.

How many would you say there are?

Over 500.

But these pieces of wood you see here, this is the Rosewood,

the famous rosewood that's more expensive.

In China it costs $20,000.

$20,000?

Per cubic metre.

These would just be looped around a tree?

Waiting for something to come along.

Put its foot in.

Yes.

Time for me to take on the criminals.

Kind of.

All right, let's go.

# Can't wait til you see...

# How you like me now?! # How you like me now?!

It's pretty scary, we were stopping for a water break.

In the distance there were two guys on a motorbike who literally just

looked on their bike and ran off.

Luckily one of the guys saw that, started chasing.

What's happened is they've dropped whatever they were carrying

and this was it.

Rosewood.

The perpetrators are too quick to get away this time.

It's clearly a tough job for these rangers.

Just making our way through the forest is hard enough.

This ride is getting bumpier and bumpier,

it's almost like trying to stay on a bucking bronco.

Whoa!

This deforestation is destroying animals habitats.

That's not the only man-made danger they face here.

The remains of snares can be found all around.

It's a strong piece of stick, OK?

When he's coming he is getting this piece of fruit

and he's getting caught.

There is a bit missing here.

Yes, it's missing.

I believe something else is missing.

A lot of these traps are designed to maim rather than kill,

so they can collect them alive?

Yes.

Having seen the indiscriminate damage that snares like this do

to even much larger animals than their intended targets,

it's quite shocking to see them up close.

But witnessing it myself helps me come face-to-face with the brutal

impact this can have.

The Andean bear is the only native bear species to South America.

It's on the endangered list because of hunting and habitat loss.

But here in the Chaparri area, they're doing something about it.

This is Peru's first private conservation area, set up jointly

with the local community in 2000.

It tries to rehabilitate rescued bears that have been captured

illegally and mistreated as exotic pets or circus attractions.

We have them here in these enclosures so they get used

to the fruit and dangers.

Most animals kept in captivity are unlikely to survive in the wild,

but here they're doing all they can to change that.

When bears are born here, they learn the things

they can eat and can't eat.

These bears are candidates to be released.

Four-year-old Elisa was born in this reserve.

This is Elisa's mother next door.

Yes.

Her mother, Angelina, was rescued from captivity

where she had been kept as a house pet.

Sadly, she would never survive in the outside world.

We're going to sedate Elisa, and we're going to set up

a GPS column on her.

The GPS collar will allow Juan to track Elisa when she is released.

OK, so is that the job done?

Wait until tomorrow, and tomorrow we're

going to release her.

OK.

So it's a beautiful morning and today's the day we're

going to release Elisa into the wild.

I'm super excited.

Here she comes from here she comes.

Juan and his team enticed Elisa out of the cage with some food,

and she takes her first steps towards freedom.

It's incredible to be so close to a bear.

There's no gate, there's no fence separating us.

She's just there, a few metres away.

Looks like she's enjoying her first wild fruit.

I think she's just realised she's in the wild.

From here on, Elisa faces an uncertain future,

but the GPS collar will track her whereabouts,

so Juan and his team can see how she adapts to life in the wild.

I'm very happy for her.

Since she was born, we were waiting for this moment.

To finish up this week, it's a bit of a travel cliche to say

it's the people who make a place, but Raja certainly found that out

when he went to Palm Springs and met an artist who is living his very

own particular version of the American dream.

Wow.

Look at that, that is astonishing.

Welcome to the wacky world of Kenny Ingram Junior.

An artist whose work is now leering sightseers away from Frank Sinatra's

old house around the corner to see this fantastical creation instead.

I've been working on my art for I would say at least

the last four decades, since I've been

living and breathing.

Really?

Yeah, I was born an artist.

On these four acres of land, Kenny has used 1000 tonnes

of recycled stuff to create 350 works of art.

So far.

There s the hockey bot.

What's that?

It's made out of refrigerators.

Made out of refrigerators?

Yeah.

Right there is the robo bear, made out of an air

conditioning compressor.

There's Santa's barrel wagon up there.

That is astonishing.

What are the reindeer made of?

Everything.

Basically, everything is made of everything.

Yeah.

That is the what bunny?

The Mongolian Easter Bunny's mobile throne.

I'm just reading this, this is one of the world's only

two-microwaved microwaves.

That is correct.

This is a genuine microwaved microwave.

I literally microwaved a microwave.

While it was microwaving.

I'm the only one in human history has ever successfully pulled off

this accomplishment.

People come from Germany, Japan, the United Arab Emirates,

France, India - all different places.

They told me they came here just to see this.

Where do you think this fits in, where you fit in,

into contemporary America?

I don't know where it could fit in, I don't think it fits in anywhere,

really, to speak of.

How we got men on the moon and how we'll get men on Mars,

or people on Mars, isn't going to happen by how things fit

in with other things, it's going to happen by how

things that have been...

Never been done before, it's how it's going to happen.

I don't think I'll fit in it.

Of course you'll fit in there, you're not that big.

Not that big at all.

Do you think we should be riding around in these?

Absolutely, there is no excuse not to.

Kenny, there's only one problem, right?

What's that?

We're on this thing and there's no one to turn it off.

Does that mean we're on here for ever?

In theory that could happen.

LAUGHTER

And it goes without saying if you're thinking about microwaving your

microwave at home, please don't.

That's all we've got time for on this weeks show.

-- That's all we've got time for on this week's show.

Coming up next week...

That's just astonishing.

Ade's in the ancient city of Petra in Jordan.

Searching for treasure.

Part of a jar or huge plate, something like this.

I've never seen such an unobstructed 360 degrees view.

And Ben's up high in Serbia, using your tips to get a better

view of Belgrade.

Hopefully you can join us then.

In the meantime, you can catch up with us on social media.

All the details you need are on screen now.

For now, from me, Christa Larwood, and the rest of the Travel Show

team, it's goodbye.

Hello.

Contrasting weather conditions to look out for this weekend.

Wet for some, hot for others, particularly on Saturday.

The reason is this area of low pressure that has been bombarding