Maori rock carvings in New Zealand. (Photo: John Garay)

New Zealand’s gorgeous geology may get all of the glory, but encounters with this island nation’s indigenous population provide an unexpected cultural richness.

Today, some 15 percent of Kiwis count themselves as Maori and maintain tribal ties related to their ancient Polynesian ancestors, who first inhabited these lands some 1,000 years go. The rich fabric of the Maori experience is woven into the tapestry of the country’s heritage and its contemporary cultural scene, and sampling the Maori’s unique customs and traditions should be an integral part of any traveler’s itinerary.

Most Maori encounters come clustered in cultural centers, museums, and art galleries on the North Island, with the heart of the Maori experience set in the geothermal area of Rotorua. Read on for a quick cheat sheet to the most essential Maori cultural experiences, each vetted and personally reviewed during my recent month-long New Zealand tour, along with a local glossary.

Essential Maori Cultural Experiences(Photo: John Garay)

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(Photo: marshall_valencia / Flickr)

There are churches: Notre Dame in Paris; St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome; the Blue Mosque in Istanbul; and Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, to name a few. And then, there are the churches of Cappadocia.

Located near the town of Göreme, in east-central Turkey, midway between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, the Göreme Open Air Museum is the home of some of the most unusual churches in the world. In ancient times the region was occupied by the Cappadocians, a tribe referred to in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible as the Hittites. Christians from the 10^th century carved rooms (monasteries, convents and churches) out of the oddly shaped rock formations and painted them with frescoes that remain today.

World-traveling Filipino photographer Marshall Valencia shared this image.

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(Photo: 2012 Paramount Pictures Corporation. All Rights Reserved)Ken Marino first stepped out as fireman Mark Orlando on the Yahoo! Screen dating show spoof “Burning Love.” Vying for Orlando’s affection were a bevy of bachelorettes played by the likes of Jennifer Aniston, Malin Akerman and Kristen Bell. Now, in its second season, “Burning Love” has made its move to primetime, airing Mondays on E! at 10 p.m. ET/PT. Will Orlando make an appearance this season? Tune in and see. In the meantime, Marino, who loves his downtime, can most likely be found at the beach. Who he’ll be chasing along the sand, however, won’t be bikini-clad.

What’s something you never fail to pack in your suitcase?
My socks.

Carry-on or check-in?
Carry-on. I don’t check in stuff. I don’t have the time, or enough clothes.

Window or aisle?
Window, so I can press my face against the cold window when I start to get claustrophobic and sweat.

What’s your idea of the perfect vacation?
A tropical island where I can sit on the beach, drink whatever fruity drink that beach is known for,

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You'll fly right over Maho Beach at St. Maarten. (Photo: takot / Flickr)

I don’t know about you, but when I go to a tropical island, I want to get to that island fast and the beach even faster. One truism in travel is that less convenient equals more beautiful, but in terms of beaches, that’s not always the case.

I’ve taken multiple connecting flights to islands only to be disappointed by the quality of the beaches. And another pet peeve is a long, arduous drive from the airport to the beach resort.

So click through this slideshow for 10 islands that are accessible via nonstop flights from major American cities—and where you can hit the beach in well under an hour (and sometimes in minutes) from the arrivals gate.

Sint Maarten/St. Martin

The island’s Dutch and French sides are distinct in terms of development and cuisine (you land on the Dutch side), but the Caribbean beaches are equally enticing in both “countries.” Orient Bay (French side), which gets progressively more clothing-optional from north to south, has a Riviera quality, with chic eateries

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(Photo: Roy Cheung Photography / Flickr)

The Moroccan city of Chefchaoen, located in the Rif Mountains, a short distance inland from Tangier, was founded in 1471. In 1496, as Spain reclaimed the Iberian Peninsula, Muslims and Jews were expelled and many found refuge across the Strait of Gibraltar, in the young city of Chefchaoen.

Jews, adhering to biblical instructions, dyed one thread in their prayer shawls blue. Apparently, the general population liked the periwinkle color so much they painted the whole town blue. Today, merchants still sell blue pigment, so residents can freshen up their azure.

Photographer Roy Cheung of Hong Kong photographed this resident with her blue hijab, chador and, orange socks.

Do you have your own compelling travel photos to share? Join the Yahoo! Travel Flickr group, or look us up on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Pinterest. You can also download the Flickr app.Read More »from Blue city: Flickr photo of the day

(Photo: Edison 43 / Flickr)

On the Rio Gatún, a river in the Isthmus of Panama, an Embera fisherman prepares for an outing. There, for ages, the Embera people – a indigenous tribe who fish, like beads and generally eschew most clothing – live relatively unaffected by the modern world.

But for the 25 horsepower Mercury motor, and orange plastic floats, this fisherman’s dugout canoe and his beaded ensemble are entirely similar to those of his ancestors, centuries ago. (Not sure about the comb over.) Using a telephoto lens, American photographer Edison Farmer gets us up close while remaining at a respectful distance.

Do you have your own compelling travel photos to share? Join the Yahoo! Travel Flickr group, or look us up on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Pinterest. You can also download the Flickr app.

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(Photo: MightyBoggs23 / Flickr)

When photographer Boggs Dichoson went out to take pictures of the ice near his home in Labrador City, in northeastern Canada, he surely asked himself: “How old is that crack?” He stood his ground long enough to make good use of the 10 mm lens mounted on his Canon EOS 450D and put the viewer in the middle of a frigid expanse.

An iron-ore mining town founded in the 1960s, Labrador City, located in Newfoundland & Labrador, averages below freezing temperatures from November through March. This image was made in the middle of November, before the local waters freeze solid.

(Clean those sensors, folks. It’s important.)

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(Photo: Orient-Express Trains & Cruises)

There is something romantic about a river – whether it’s the tree canopy of the Amazon, bearing birds and reptiles, bending low to kiss the water, or the never-ending hard current of the Mississippi, moving boats and men and ink from the pens of Twain and Faulkner.

Travelers have been drawn to them for thousands of years, and while looking at a river from its banks is lovely, to live on the currents for a week or more is the journey of a lifetime.

Here are seven of the world’s best riverboat journeys:

The Irrawaddy, aboard The Road to Mandalay

Rudyard Kipling penned the poem “Mandalay” without ever actually going to Mandalay. You can go now, however, thanks to the ease in tension and rise in tourism for Myanmar. The most iconic way to visit this tropical country of temples is to cruise the Irrawaddy River with The Orient Express. The Road to Mandalay is an 82-passenger ship, built in 1964. The world-renowned vessel has a feel of timeless luxury – from afternoon tea service on the

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