this week we're in australia. it's been a while now since australia officially reopened its borders to tourists and it's been so good to see so many people heading there. and today, we'll be looking back at some of my favorite travel show moments from the country i still call home. of course, australia is a vast country and we can't possibly attempt to cover the whole nation injust this one program. but hopefully we'll give you a flavour. one of my favorite

stories saw me back in my home state of victoria way back in 2016 when i headed to phillip island to see the efforts that were being made to look after what were undoubtedly some of the cutest penguins i've ever seen. it's a place that attracts millions of tourists every year. and this year marks the 185th anniversary of a sea voyage that changed the world. it was december 1831 when charles darwin set off on the hms beagle to see sights that would lead to his radical theory of evolution. and a key moment came when he visited australia when he was struck by the oddness of the country's animals. at the time darwin was exploring australia. there were ten penguin colonies all around phillip island, but by the early 1980s there was only one left.

here on the beautiful and very blustery summerland peninsula. a radical conservation effort was required. so in 1985, the victorian state government began a mass buyback of land from people who were living on the peninsula, demolishing their houses and creating a largely human free habitat for the penguins. it's a conservation effort that has continued to this day, thanks to phillip island nature parks, a not for profit organization that carefully monitors the health of the penguin colony. each day, researchers come out just after dawn to check on the birds. morning, ladies. good morning. what are we doing here? we're checking penguin boxes to see who's home and how healthy they are. okay, so what's the process? so i'll be taking the

bird out, giving them a scan for a microchip, putting them in a bag and getting their weight? fantastic. want me to show you? yes. 0h. 0k. there we go. she seems pretty placid, pretty calm. you see, she's been shoved in the bag. some of them can be. yeah. most of the time they are quite aggressive. they are wild animals, so they can be very aggressive. okay, so she is 1150, so she is a very good weight. 0h. oh, go ahead. they even offered me the chance to help. i was not going to pass up an opportunity to get up close and personal with a penguin. so scanning. a penguin attack. oh, i'm sorry.

i'm sorry. we'll be really quick, and i can report that these little guys are not as light as they look. he's a big boy. oh, look at him. look at him. all of this cutting edge research doesn't come cheap, but luckily these penguins have some powerful friends when it comes to funding tourists. not surprisingly, a lot of people want to come and see these very cute penguin species. and each year, just under 700,000 tourists come to the center here, contributing around $400 million to the state economy. now, while attracting so many visitors, no doubt provides an economic boost, but it also presents a challenge. how do you host thousands of people here every night without making life unbearable for the little penguins? certainly there are some challenges with an attraction such as this. the penguins are our number one priority. of course, without the penguins we don't have an attraction, so there's no point in not looking after them.

some of the measures include these boardwalks which allow the birds to walk freely beneath and no photography at all, as flashes can damage sensitive penguin eyes. to light the way there are soft yellow led lights, just the right color for minimal impact. the time to see penguins is at dusk when scores of them come out from the sea and make their way to burrows on the hillside. this penguin parade draws most of the visitors here, and it's not hard to see why. oh, they're so cute. despite all the challenges, the future certainly looks bright

for the little penguins. if all of these researchers and tourists have anything to say about it, phillip island's smallest residents will be around and very well protected for a long time to come. well, i really enjoyed spending time with those penguins down in victoria, but there are so many different landscapes and experiences to explore across australia. so let's set our compass for the dead centre of the country and look back at the time when henry golding headed to alice springs. if you drop the marker right in the middle of australia, you probably land not too far off this point right here north about 3500 kilometers. you're going to reach darwin, head over south. same amount, you'll reach adelaide. and in that direction, as the crow flies 2500 kilometres, you're going to reach sydney. the remoteness of the town means that it's not a common stop on the australian tourism trail.

the numbers far below those of rival towns in australia. between 2007 and 2013, visits by international tourists to the northern territory fell quite drastically, year on year, down by nearly a quarter. the high cost of internal flights has been blamed, but in the town of alice springs, fear of crime has also been a big factor in putting people off. but numbers are starting to creep back up. part of that fight back here in alice springs is all to do with this. yes, alice springs has launched a plan to turn itself into a world class mountain biking hub. the combination of beautiful landscapes and fantastic weather has made the trails around alice springs a local favourite for years. but the town wants to attract more international visitors. the territory hopes to bring in nearly $70 million a year through biking tourism.

clark petrick from outback cycling leads tours throughout the trails here. there's some of the best riding in australia is here. there's 200 k of beautiful natural singletrack that you just don't find anywhere else. mountain biking is a key component of the adventure tourism market, which is growing. people are less sedentary and don't want to just view these sites. they really want to interact with them, experience them, and challenge himself. we have amazing trail already. the environment lends itself to really good single trail, lots of small rides, lots of challenging rock gardens. but now we're just really got to market that, show people what's available. but people find this undiscovered mountain biking scene. tourism boss says one alice springs to gain international mountain biking association ride centre status. and they've developed a five year master plan to try and achieve it. alongside mountain biking, the town is trying to improve its image and reinvent itself for the tourist market.

and helping tourists understand more about the unique outback environment is another way the town is shaking up its image. the earth sanctuary was set up by former neighbours star dan falzon and with his family. he teaches visitors about the outback. dan, what we up to? what are we doing? ijoined dan to make some damper. a traditional aboriginal bush recipe for bread that's made with their newly created beer — the red centre devil. this is the first craft beer in central australia. it is the first craft beer in central australia at the moment. also the only beer that we have in australia. so craft beer is becoming really popular around the world. the difference with this one is that we've infused some of our beautiful fruits that grow here on the property. they're called corn dung. they're a bit of bush tucker out here really high. and vitamin c, just a really small fruit with a large nut, which we call a brain in there. but we collect the fruits and we can make chutneys out of it.

beautiful syrups which you can go in desserts and all sorts of stuff pour your beer in there. the recipe for making damper is incredibly simple. a bit of beer and first. self—rising flour and some raisins. the more is not too far and yours is looking is getting there. that looks good. that's perfect. so as long as there's enough flour in it that saves, it's getting a little bit burnt in there. so as long as there's enough flour in it that saves, it's getting a little bit burnt in there. that's lovely. well done. about 45 minutes in the fire, the damper was ready to eat, and dan and his team prepared a feast of bushtuckerfor me to enjoy, including camel, kangaroo and croc. i have to say, that we didn't taste half bad. and what we do is we just dip that in. and as you've done their dip, it is beautiful virgin olive oil. and with some wattle seed, some outback wattle seed. this is amazing. it's fantastic. this is really good. it's lovely to be in a place like central australia, very, very ancient environment that can draw upon the beautiful,

rare and exotic foods that come from here. and they can help you along along the way and add to a wonderfuljourney around this great country. for sure. cheers. thank you. still to come on this week's show, climate change versus conservation along the great barrier reef. and we visit a sydney restaurant where the customer is never right. now the great barrier reef is the world's largest coral reef, but this magnificent marvel of nature is facing threats from overtourism pollution and climate change. mike cory visited the reef back in 2019 to meet a remarkable woman who's dedicated her life to saving this unique ecosystem. around 10% of all fish species live here. as a diver, there aren't many

places that can beat it. due to increased water temperatures. there's been several mass bleaching events here on the great barrier reef 2016 and 2017, especially, couple of that with a severe tropical cyclone and up to 80% of the reef was affected. for myself an ocean lover, it's very worrying. but there are stretches like here on the southern part that still thrive. schools of fish rays, sharks and turtles are all abundant. i'm here to meet some of the people who've devoted their lives to keeping it that way. how perfect is that? billions of little, tiny jewels. like little swirling jewels in the ocean. yeah, it's incredible down there, racheljones has worked in these waters for 18 months now.

the marine park authorities have rewarded her efforts by giving her master reef guide status. so tell me what the health of the reef we saw down there today. it's very healthy. it's just so much diversity here. i mean, up there suggested 900 years old. so it's just coral that's died off and built up over time. what are some of the main threats facing the great barrier reef? so we're all aware of the threats of the reef, you know, the rising sea surface temperatures, ocean acidification. we're all aware of it. but we need as many people as we can to see the great barrier reef because they're going to fall in love with it as you have. and then they go home and protect the great barrier reef and all the reefs in the world. but then if more people are coming here, there's more people flying and therefore more carbon emissions. isn't that bad for the reef? we need as many people as we can to see the reef. and, you know, they can choose sustainable options. and every person that visits the great barrier reef pays an environmental levy.

so they're playing a part every time they come. rachel is based on heron island, about 2 hours boat ride from gladstone on the queensland coast. there's a resort and a research station built on the site of an old turtle soup factory. these days, people here want their wildlife protected rather than liquidized. sandy, exactly how big is the great barrier reef? it's immense. i mean, it's about the same surface area as germany, 2300 kilometres in length, thousands of reefs, hundreds of islands. massive. it sounds massive. it must be hard to survey the entire thing then. yeah. so they reckon that 40% of the reef hasn't been surveyed. so from a from a conservation perspective, so massive. and imagine how the logistics you would require in order to do the whole the whole reef would be, you know, immense. andy's the brains

behind earth hour. that's 60 minutes every year when businesses and landmarks turn off their lights to raise awareness of climate change. here we are. now, though, he's turned his attention to the reef and is convinced education is the key to its survival. so we're going to show you now is reef tracks, which is something that we've already launched and started to show the animals that have got satellite tags that are out on the reef. wow. yeah, yeah, yeah. so this is a green turtle. tiger shark. whale shark. this is about to show you. show you a whale sharks. this is the first whale shark ever been tagged on the great barrier reef, and it lost its tag after about 4000 kilometers. but it went all the way up the reef, then out into the coral sea and then up into the solomon sea. one night a year,

the coral simultaneously release millions of eggs and sperm into the waters. it looks like a massive underwater snowstorm. professor harrison has set about capturing that spawn and relocating it to areas that need it most. okay, what's the plan? okay, mike. so what we're going to do is i'm going to ask you to take this calipers, okay? and just go down and measure the coral. he measures the new coil regularly and has found that it's been thriving. but he's also found that after three years, it's sexual reproductive, triggering a domino effect of regeneration. can you tell us a bit about the breakthrough you've made. the breakthrough you've made? yes. what we've been doing is some really exciting research. one of the innovations that we've just trialled in the philippines is using an underwater robot, which we've called luna, the larval bot. and luna is helping us deliver literally

millions of coral larvae onto really degraded reef systems. and the really exciting news is that we've got to hectare scales, which means we can start to think about large scale restoration using this larval technique on reefs all around the world, including the great barrier reef. this isjust part of the solution. we have to restore coral populations. but we also have to manage climate change. well, that's almost it for this week. but before we go, let's pay a repeat visit to karen's diner dubbed the rudest restaurant in the world. it's staffed by actors who try their very best to make sure that you have a terrible time, all in the name of fun. i'll sign off here with a polite goodbye and leave you with a very hungry jackie wakefield in sydney who really had no idea what she'd let herself in for. see you next time. what do we want? let's go. i'm not getting any younger. is your name chad?

it's called karen's diner. and my mom, dad and family friend agreed to come with me to brave the onslaught. oh, my god. did you make that show yourself? but first, some rules. no racist, sexist, homophobic, ableist comments. no body shaming. no sexual harassment. any damage or vandalism, you'll be removed. keep food and drink on your tables and don't throw them away. all right, we're good. thank you very much. word spread fast on social media about the service here and queues began to form as people decided they'd like a piece of the action. to some diners it's lots of fun and to others, totally baffling. you're welcome. thank you.

but of course, it's all make believe. why would you get a bacon burger and then get real change? the staff are actors and it's part of the new wave of theatrical dining experiences that have seen restaurants opening themed around british sitcoms or broadway shows in recent years. yes. drink a mocktail. what is this? i'm not playing charades right now. use your big girl words. you need skin like a rhino. i mean, it was fun but tense. how did you feel when they came up and you had to order? nervous, especially when they called you something rude. what do they call you? big one. what else? santa claus. grandpa and mom. what did you get by christmas? are we done? so what do you say?

thank you. you're welcome. i'm not going to do yourjob for you, i. what do you think is the appeal of the rudeness for customers who come in here? i think people really enjoy having a laugh. it's like some families just have a really, really good time. like it's not a venue for everyone, but the people that do enjoy it. like, it definitely is the space for them. the what? do you encourage that rudeness back? absolutely. it's so fun when people banter back. it's not very fun when you sit there and they're like and theyjust like take it. it's really fun when they bend your back, especially if they're like a good table that you get along with and you're able to like, establish like some kind of like rapport with them. you can keep coming back and you can keep harassing them. it's always really fun. okay, you got the burger with the potato fries. of course, the staff needs special training to work here. who got the salads? that kind of breathtaking rudeness doesn't always come easy. ryan is a newjoiner, and he's come all the way from ireland for the

chance to work here. what age are you? you look five. don't be smart with me, granddad. back home in ireland, i knew when i was come to australia i was like, i need to get into karen. i told everyone i was going to do it. everyone said to me, no, you need to be an actor. no, you need to have like a background. and i was like, i don't care. i'm going to get in. go sit down at the back table. go sit down. quick, quick. talk me through what it feels like when you're about to approach table. that's so rude of you. you have to almost spot straightaway what table is. is it a bunch of teenagers? is that a family? is it a bunch of adults? oh, my god. how many pictures do you want of me? when you first start off and you're like a little bit nervous because you're almost doing a performance every time. for once, you just come more comfort with the character. like you go off, you know what works for you, you know what doesn't work for you. you're comfortable in what you know messy. i don't want your leftovers. i think i'm kind of confident enough now that i go up. and if they find a funny, don't find a funny. i'm like, this is my character. i know what works.

like it, or leave it, i don't care. like, that's very karten of you. it's like sometimes i have to try to separate the character from myself. you're not even wearing proper shoes. how are you going to pay for this whole meal? hello there. the first week of september is looking a lot more summery than what we had throughout most ofjuly and indeed august. this weekend, high pressure is building in. it will turn drier and sunnier and warmer across the board. however, there will be a fly in the ointment that comes with this area of low pressure

in its weather from which will push close to the northwest of scotland at times, certainly on sunday. but high pressure is building in — it's killing off the showers, the clouds. early on saturday we should see any rain fizzling out, but there will be a legacy of clouds and mist and fog, particularly across central southern england, wales, northern ireland. here it's going to be mild, but again, the northeast corner of scotland will be quite chilly with temperatures in low single digits. so we start off plenty of sunshine in the north. further south mist then fog through the morning which will tend to lift and burn into the afternoon. could see the odd isolated shower developing, but most places will stay dry and it'll feel a lot warmer for most low to mid twenties across the board. as we head through saturday night again we'll see the mist and fog develop pretty much anywhere but especially across parts of england and wales. gradually, this weather front will start to push outbreaks of rain. a much milder night to come

across northeast scotland, 13 degrees for aberdeen and elsewhere. temperatures will be in double figures. sunday high pressure still with us, but this weather front will be influencing the weather across northwest scotland. so for the highlands and islands, it'll be quite cloudy, breezy with outbreaks of rain here. but southern and eastern scotland, northern ireland, england and wales, once any early mist and fog clears away, then it'll be a lovely, sunny, dry day. light winds for most quite gusty, though, for the north west of scotland. temperature wise, for the highlands and islands, 15 to 17 degrees. but the rest of scotland, northern ireland, england and wales, it's the low to mid twenties. as we head into monday we hold on to this wetter, cloudier, breezier weather across northwest scotland. but the rest of scotland, northern england and wales again, once any morning mist and foreclosures away, it'll be dry, sunny and very warm with temperatures ranging from 22 to 26 celsius. much warmer there for eastern scotland, too. and we hold on to those temperatures mid to maybe high twenties for england and wales could see close to 30 degrees

in one or two spots, otherwise they'll be turning more unsettled by the end of the week.

live from washington, this is bbc news. this month, children across the globe are headed back to school. but it doesn't come without mounting challenges for both students and teachers. hello, i'm caitriona perry. you're very welcome. hundreds of millions of students across the globe are returning to the classroom. but instead of concerns

about making friends or getting the best marks, some are dealing with crumbling school buildings, an increase in school violence, a shocking rise in depression and anxiety among children, along with disputes over what can actually be taught. over this next half—hour special, we will take a closer look at the mounting challenges facing students and teachers as they head back. the school year is already off to a rough start for some. in england, more than 100 schools were ordered to close thursday due to concerns they were built using unsafe concrete. the concrete, which was used between the 1950s and mid— 1990s, is prone to failures and crumbling. concerns about the concrete had been known for years. the uk's education department said it would work with affected schools on "individual solutions". two schools in the us state of kentucky announced they had to close for in—person classes this week due to a rise in illnesses among staff and students. school officials said the drop off in attendance was due to a mixture of viruses, including covid—19 and

influenza.