After arriving in Ternate, meet your guide just outside of the customs area and transfer directly to the Ombak Putih. After getting settled in your room, enjoy lunch on board while meeting the other passengers and crew. In the afternoon, venture into Ternate which has retained its commercial and political importance as the main administrative trading centre of North Maluku. Of the four historically powerful spice sultanates, Ternate is the only one where the institution of the sultanate has survived uninterrupted. In town, an interesting place to wander about in itself, a highlight will be a visit to the old house said to have been lived in by Wallace over a period of years as his base for many specimen-gathering expeditions. You'll also meet the ‘Afu’, the oldest clove tree in the world surrounding which is a fascinating history of intrigue, greed and hope.