Daughter, chloe. I hope youve been beating that drum, this morning. Michael, just talk me through the outfits that youve put together. I like to get some, like, bits and pieces and just tie them on, like and stick them on our heads. Happy days youre a pagan. What does the winter solstice mean to you . Its like celebrating ancestors and things like that, you know, having a little tiny drink of mead. That sort of thing, you know now its time for a look at the weather with darren bett. Shortest day of the year, but at least most of us are seeing some sunshine today. We have had some rain though for the eastern side of being this morning. That has been pulling away out into the north sea so pulling away out into the north sea so it will be drier and sunnierfor what is left of today. Those showers will be making further progress into wales, western england, south western and other western part of scotland. Pretty mild for this time of the year. The wind is picking upon in the south west. The breeze will blow in more showers from the western side of the uk pushing their way eastwards overnight. Enough of a breeze to keep tempted at three or 4 degrees. Frost in the north east of scotland where we will have clearer skies and a lighter wind as well. A chilly day tomorrow. The main focus of the showers will be across southern scotland, Northern Ireland and Northern Ireland. It should on the whole be largely dry with sunshine. We could see the number of flood warnings dropping and those temperatures going up to ten or ii degrees across southern parts of finland and wales. England and wales. Hello, this is bbc news. The headlines. Tesco suspends Christmas Card production at a chinese factory after a six Year Old Girl in london finds a message claiming that prisoners are being forced to pack them. We were writing in them and about on my sixth or eighth card, there was, somebody already written in it. Had already written in it. The parents of harry dunn the teenager killed in a Road Accident in northamptonshire in august have met the home secretary for talks. Australias Prime Minister apologises for holidaying in hawaii as wildfires continue to sweep across three states. The queen attends a Church Service in sandringham, while the duke of edinburgh spent a second night in hospital receiving treatment for a pre exisiting condition. A nativity scene by banksy appears at a hotel in bethlehem in the west bank. Now on bbc news, its the travel show. Lucy hedges rounds up some of the team 5 best adventures from 2019. Hello, and welcome to this, the last travel show of 2019, so what better time to take a look back on the past year on the programme. Heres a taste of whats coming up. Condors get this view. Condors and us. Its incredible. That was like being in a tumble dryer. That was completely insane. All that and more to come here on the show this week, but lets kick off with a trip that mike made over to california back in may. We told him that all he would need was a taste for adventure and a head for heights. Here is what happened. Here in western california, there are complex beings that have lived for over a millennium. Redwood trees have become an icon of this state. Some fear that our changing climate might threaten their survival. I have come to the most southern tip of their range, where change could hit the hardest, to join a scientist who has been working here to try to find some answers. Its absolutely amazing being out in the forest, i just love it, listening to the birds and watching the sun move through the canopy, its beautiful. Today, we will be climbing this. These are coast redwoods, the tallest tree species in the world, reaching commonly about 380 feet tall is the tallest, and they are incredibly tough and resilient, really important ecologically, they are iconic. I have been here trying to get a better understanding of how they are responding to Climate Change, and how they might respond to future Climate Change. And how are they responding . As the Climate Changes, temperatures are increasing, its drying things out as temperatures get warmer, and thats a big consideration for these particular trees because they need so much water, its affecting their water balance and their ability to transport more water to the tops of the trees. Now its time to get to work. There we go. First, we need a sample of the trees core. This is the halfway mark there, and then when you get to the ground, we can pull that spoon out with the core on it. And the hidden secrets beneath this bark will be ours the knowledge will be ours earlier on, anthony showed me some of the secrets the tree had already revealed. These are the rings here . Yeah, each one of those is an annual ring, one year of growth. So it only grows a couple of millimetres each year . And sometimes less than a millimetre a year. We are back hundreds of years right now . Yeah, once we polish this up and sand it and get a better view of the rings, there could be. 100, 200, 300, 400, 500 600, 700, maybe, years here. Wow, so this section up here, it hasnt seen sunlight for 600, 700 years. Its an amazing archive. I have one end of the tape measure, we are doing the circumference measurement. Wrap it all the way around, underneath this tubing. We are at 7. 81; metres circumference. Thats a big tree. 7. 8 metres around, and the next plan is to go up to the top. Upwards we go, to the top this redwood stands at over 70 metres tall. Climbing redwoods is forbidden in most places, but in this reserve, we have special permission, and what a privilege it is. I cant get over how beautiful this tree is. There are marks on this tree, a0 metres, which boggles my mind. Its incredible up here. As we inch upwards, i am faced with more scorched bark. Anthony told me that wildfires are another threat that these trees are increasingly facing in the modern world. Birds nest. I dont think there is anybody at home though. With anthony already at the top collecting samples, i make my final push upwards. This view. Its definitely one of the wildest, most incredible views i have seen in my entire life. I cant believe we are 71 metres off the ground right now. Condors get this view, condors, and us. Its incredible. This is 700 years old, which is before the colonisation of america, before taj mahal, it makes you feel like a speck of sand in the sandbox, insignificant. Yeah, its a humbling experience. If the Climate Change experience dries things sufficiently, then they might start to feel some impacts, they might not grow as well, may not get as tall, and might die back, and that is what were trying to find out. I feel the tree shaking a little bit. Yeah, its waving. Just a normal thing, i am assuming . Mike being rewarded with some truly spectacular views in california back in may, and earlier injanuary, carmen took on her own challenge in taiwan, but this would involve staying firmly on the ground. Its the annual arts festival, and a local Dance Company have invited me to take part in a performance that they are doing for todays parade. Hi, you must be roger. I am, lets get you in. 0k the festival is held every year close to taipei, and teams from all over the country and further afield come to compete in a celebration of music and dance. Its a big high profile event, so my team are taking a real risk by letting a total novice join their ranks. With only an hour to go before the start of the parade, troop leader roger walked me through my role. Id rather be hiding somewhere at the back, but he has me leading the whole team. Look at the dragon, swing this way, like an eight. The idea is that the dragon follows the ball and stick that iam holding. If only i knew where i was meant to be heading. Miraculously, the other performers follow my somewhat frantic lead. Lets just hope they will be this accommodating when we do it for real. I hope no one laughs at me. In the first section of the parade, a dozen or so local high schools will compete for best performance. The streets are crammed with friends, families and teachers all waiting to see their groups perform. They have been working on their routines for months, and today is the day that it all comes together, with an extravaganza of energy, colour and sound. With a great level of showmanship thrown in, too, for good measure. And now i can hear my group approaching. I am so nervous i dont want to make a total fool of myself in front of this big crowd. There is at least 1,000 people here, its a lot more than i thought. 0k, tell me when . Now . And all of a sudden, im on. My mind seems to go totally blank amid all the noise and colour. Luckily, roger is there to give me a push in the right direction. Somehow, the team follow my lead, although i really have no idea where i am going. Ok, now in the middle . Sorry its ok and then, my big dragon stick seems to develop a mind of its own. I was really really nervous, and it was quite stressful, oh, my gosh i tried to remember my moves, i think i only hit two people with the ball. I was in a state of panic. Sorry to the people that i hit with the ball. It seemed to go on forever. I cant believe i was part of a dragon dance on the streets of taiwan who would have thought . Carmen causing trouble with her dragon stick in taiwan, back at the start of the year. Time for something with a bit more horsepower 110w, and in march, adi made his first ever visit to dubai. Lets just say he got to travel style, very very quickly. Good to see you. Look at this jump in. All set . Lets do it ive just seen we have a rolls royce going past here, that is standard, superca rs everywhere . What is it with dubai . Why are they so in love with the superca rs . There are a couple of different reasons. One is to show off, as much as no one wants to admit it, people do like showing off, partly why people drive supercars, to show off a little bit. Then there is the most amazing driving roads in the uae, you head out to the local areas, there are amazing driving roads out there. Dannys ninth degree group of local supercar owners hold regular track days and events here. Theyll even let you hire one of the top of the range models, so that you can get behind the wheel. For a few hours, at least. We are going to go for a spin in this car, and this car is the real deal. Its almost £1 million worth of raw, brutal, unadulterated power. Lets do this, man oh, yes oh, my days ade not quite breaking the sound barrier, but almost, in dubai earlier this year. Stick around, because there is plenty more to come, including this. I know they said im not going to feel the cold, but im really nervous. My goodness now, if you are a fan of winter sports, you are going to love this next one, because back in march, christa headed to latvia to try her hand on one of the very few professional bobsleigh tracks open to tourists, and it was quite a ride. Welcome to siguldas bobsleigh track, one of the very few in the world where tourists can get the same adrenaline rush as professional races. We are about to set off, 100 kilometres, down a very icy slope. Luckily, ive got an expert pilot, so fingers crossed that it goes very smoothly. Apart from the pilots steering the bobsleigh from the front, a team also includes pushers and a brakeman. But tourists get it easy. Theyjust need to duck in and hold very tight. This track is almost 1500 metres long and you need a pretty strong stomach to manage its 16 curves. Oh, man i think that is one of the most intense experiences of my entire life. That was like being in a very, very active, very cold tunnel dryer tumble dryer for a minute and a half. I didnt even know how long it was. That was completely insane. Another winter sport that can take your breath away is this the skeleton. Imagine a luge with no brakes or steering aid that you ride headfirst. I dont think im ready to try one of the full blown skeletons, but there is a tourist version available that is a little bit more my speed. Wish me luck. Its called a frog, and for this one, theres no crew to make me feel safe. Oh, my goodness oh, god laughter. Oh, god. How was it . So cool i could go again right now, lets go. Christa in latvia back in march. And keeping within the icy theme, it was my turn to feel the cold when i headed to the french alps to try my hand at ice diving. I still cant believe i somehow got talked into that one. The good news is i cant feel how cold it is out here. The lake ill be diving into is right in the ski village of tignes le lac, just a stones throw from the lifts. The more i stare at the icy abyss, the more ijust want to stick my foot in just to get a taste or a feel of how cold it is. I know they said im not going to feel the cold, but im really nervous about my body going into some kind of shock once i get into the water. I am sure it will be fine, but my mind is currently in overdrive. Ijust want to get in now. You are in . Perfect. Davan will be staying above the ice, helping me and another instructor go under. It is not an activity you can do as a group. Rather, one person at a time with an instructor, for safety reasons. We will go into the water. Now. My initial worries of freezing to death quickly went away. Perfect bye bye but it didnt quite go to plan, and i had to surface. So my mask started to fill with water. And i started to panic. So i was like, help after a little reminder about what to do, namely, dont panic, i was mentally prepared for another go. I am ready to go back in. I only did it for a minute or so, but it is so pretty down there and just being able to touch all the bubbles under the ice is really cool. This time my mask stayed put, but we decided not to stray too far from the ice hole and my confidence returned. It is an otherworldly experience under the ice, cut off from the noise and distractions above. And it is surprisingly relaxing. 0nly towards the end did my toes and fingers start to tingle a little, but otherwise, the drysuit really did keep the cold out. For the really daring, it is possible to free dive. Probably not for me, though. I much prefer having the oxygen tank. A truly amazing experience, but one im not in any kind of hurry to repeat, you wont be surprised to hear. Lets finish this look back at 2019 by heading to malaysia, where mike got a chance to get up close to the orangutans of sarawak back in october. I am sure it is an experience you wont forget. I have come to the semenggoh nature reserve where the rangers are preparing for the morning feed. The reserve took orangutans that have been rescued from captivity or suffered from habitat loss and taught them how to live wild in the surrounding forest. Since then, the Rehabilitation Programme has been moved elsewhere, but the forest is still home to 33 orangutans, and tourists have the chance to glimpse those tempted back by a free meal. It is very different to a zoo, then . No orangutans in cages here . Yeah, it is totally different to a zoo. Luckily for us, we dont have to wait long for a sighting. This is edwin, one of the biggest males in the park. Like the ranger said, this is not a zoo. The orangutans can come from any direction at any time, so you have to be a little careful, especially around the big males like edwin here. While these orangutans are used to people, they are still unpredictable, so tourists are kept at a safe distance. Edwin is 23 years old, born in 1996, and he was the first male orangutan born in semenggoh. Sadly, despite conservation efforts, orangutans face an uncertain future. Over a 16 year period, the numbers in borneo fell by more than 100,000, a decline blamed on hunting and deforestation. It is now estimated that there are just over 100,000 orangutans left on the island. And so the facility here, how does it help . So, by having a sanctuary like semenggoh, people still get the sense of seeing the wild orangutan, and not disturb it in its natural habitat. The feeling, the excitement of seeing wild orangutans, brings you closer to conservation efforts, it really means something. Mike in malaysia back in october. And im afraid that is it for this programme and for this year. All thats left to do is to say thank you forjoining us on our travels in 2019. And on behalf of everyone here on the programme in front of and behind the camera, we would like to wish you a happy and healthy new year, and we will all see you again in 2020. Bye bye. I mean, this is 2,000 years old definitely worth the ungodly wake up call. Oh, if you insist. Here you go. Whale burps. 0h it has been. Still over 70 flood warnings in england alone. We have had some rain already today. Maybe overnight and this morning perhaps half an inch to an inch of rain in one 01 half an inch to an inch of rain in one or two parts of the eastern savvy of. The rain is moving away and we have more sunshine and eastern parts of england. If you showers for western scotland, much of Northern Ireland will be dry. The wind will be freshening across many parts of the uk, particularly in the south west and those ship wins will bring in more those winds will bring in more those winds will bring in more showers. A touch of frost in the north east of scotland. Mo showers are concentrated in certain central scotland. Further south maybe the odd chance of a shower. Southern and central bartering and around 11 degrees. By the evening, these weather fronts will bring some cloud and patchy rain. That will be pushed into wales and england overnight and a weather system and england overnight and a weather syste m co m e and england overnight and a weather system come behind that during the day. Cloudy with patchy rain footing and and wales. No great amounts of rain. For northern income, it may tend to dry off a little bit. Scotla nd tend to dry off a little bit. Scotland and Northern Ireland seeing some dry weather. Temperatures around six or 7 degrees. By the time sa nta around six or 7 degrees. By the time santa arrives on christmas eve, Christmas Day morning, those temperatures will be a bit lower and although the rain will have moved away, low pressure arriving just in time for Christmas Day. A touch of frost here and there the odd fog patches well. It will cloud over through the day but staying dry until evening. Ten ridges a little bit low on Christmas Day, six to 9 degrees. The next weather system thatis degrees. The next weather system that is arriving for boxing day has got a bit more about it. It is a deeper area of low pressure, for a while, it will put in these weather front as well. Most of us will see a speu front as well. Most of us will see a spell of rain, it could be heavier to begin with and they could be some snow for a while over the pennines and the southern uplands. With the wind is blowing going more showers across wales and the salvington. A different look to the weather for boxing day. Still double figures for souther