Indonesia's Eastern Islands from the Sky

Contributor FxOviCorua created this beautiful drone video of North Sulawesi, the most geographically remote part of the gigantic Indonesian Island.  The province is an extremely long peninsula which extends north and then many hundreds of km/mi east from the center of the island, the eleventh largest in the world by land area.  The two main cities near its tip, Manado and Bitung, actually lie closer to Mindanao in the Philippines than they do to Makassar, the largest city of Sulawesi.   

Sulawesi in eastern Indonesia is one of the world's most unusually shaped islands.  Most of its considerable land area is on four peninsulas that jut out from a small center.  In this video, contributor and drone pilot r_prayugo gives us a bird's eye view of the people and landscape of the southern peninsula, called South Sulawesi.  The indigenous people in this region are called the Toraja, meaning "people of the uplands" referring to the mountainous nature of this part of the giant island.

Labengki is an Indonesian island which lies off the southeastern part of Sulawesi.  It is considered quite remote, accessible by boat from the city of Kendari, the capital of Southeast Sulawesi.  It's known as a diving destination, popular with the more adventurous pursuers of that activity.  The small island is surrounded by numerous even smaller islands, some of which do not even appear on most maps.  In this video by Abekbaek, you'll get a bird's eye view of this bit of tropical paradise.  

Here's an aerial view of an important mid-sized city in the eastern islands of Indonesia, compliments of ariotrihantoro.  The city of Ambon is the capital of the Maluku Province, one of the 34 into which the nation is divided.  The province covers a large portion of the historical region known as the Maluku Islands, whcich became one of the key sources for the spice trade which drove much of the Early Modern world economy.  The city lies at the head of a bay on Ambon Island, just to the southeast of the island of Maluka.  

Here's a fascinating look at the interior of the giant island of Borneo, compliments of contributor Bam's1974.  The massive island, the world's third-largest by land area, is shared between Indonesia (which controls about 75% of it), Malaysia, and the tiny Sultanate of Brunei.  Situated between the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Sulawesi, it's home to some of the world's oldest rainforests. The video was shot in the Indonesian part of the island, in a lakes district in the Barito River valley.   

Ibnukf used a drone and ground camera footage to create this amazing video of a traditional festival known as the Sago Caterpillar Party in eastern Indonesia.  The festival is held in an area called Kambay, which is deep in the interior of the country's West Papua province.  West Papua is the western half of the island of New Guinea, the world's second largest island after Greenland.  Indonesia only has control of the western part of the island; the eastern half is the territory of the nation of Papua New Guinea.  

Explore the city of Tarakan, Indonesia in this excellent drone video by AirVuz contributor Mampir_Goy.  Tarakan is the capital and largest city of the province of North Kalimantan, which covers the northernmost Indonesian territory on the giant island of Borneo (the northern part of which is part of Malaysia).  Once the center of the region's oil production, Tarakan actually sits on its own (namesake) island, which lies about midway down the provinces's eastern coastline on the Celebes Sea (itself part of the Western Pacific Ocean).    

Check out this magnificent drone video of Indonesia's Wayag Island, compliments of AirVuz contributor and pilot dronetraveller.  Wayag is actually a group of over one hundred tiny islands within the Raja Ampat Islands, an archipelago of small to medium-sized islands just west of the giant island of Papua New Guinea, in the province of West Papua.  The islands, which straddle the Equator, are known for world-class diving spots, among other attractions.  The video was filmed with a DJI Phantom 4 drone.  

Contributor Yan Indera created this beautiful video of Ambon Island in eastern Indonesia.  The island is part of the Maluku Islands, a large archipelago situated between the islands of Sulawesi and New Guinea. The island, which houses the capital of the Maluku Islands province, is characterized by beautiful white sand beaches and modestly tall yet beautiful mountains in the interior.  This video combines drone and ground camera footage to give you a full view of this tropical paradise.  

One of the fascinating things about the gigantic island of Sulawesi in Indonesia is its cultural and natural diversity.  The peninsulas which make up most of the oddly shaped islands make for distinctive landscapes and are inhabited by distinctive native cultures.  In this video, you'll get a bird's eye view of the area around Toraja in southern Sulawesi.  The area takes its name from the Toraja ethnic group, which numbers about 1 million as of 2018, virtually all of whom live in South Sulawesi.

South Sulawesi is the most populous part of the giant island, Indonesia's fourth largest by land area.  Near the southern tip of the region is the regency of Gowa.  Most of Gowa is part of the metropolitan area of Makassar, the largest city on the island and the fifth largest city in the country.  The area has seen an influx of tourism in recent years, and its now one of the biggest destinations in Sulawesi.  In this video, you'll get a bird's eye view of Gowa, compliments of contributor Ibing.  

Check out this stunning first person view (FPV) drone video Indonesia's Biak Island, compliments of AirVuz contributor and FPV pilot GrizzFPV. The video was shot near the town of Padwa, which lies on the south side of the island.  Biak is situated off the northwestern coast of New Guinea, the gigantic island which is shared between Indonesia (whose territory includes the western half of the island) and the nation of Papua New Guinea on the eastern half.  Biak covers a land area of around 1.75k square km or around 675 square mi,