Most of Aru's closely-packed outer islands are actually quite similar in terms of scenery, flora, fauna and culture,  making it difficult to recommend one over the other. One region of the archipelago that stands out though is the South-East. It is home to Aru's main terrestrial nature reserve (Pulau Baun), its large marine reserve, and its central island of Workai/Barakai is as traditional culturally as any in Aru. It is also as far as you can get from Dobo though, making it a rather time-consuming, and potentially somewhat expensive region to visit.

Pulau Baun

Jungle-clad Pulau Baun is Aru's main terrestrial nature reserve, well-known locally as the island with the most abundant wildlife, including birds. While far from totally protected in practice, with both logging and hunting still taking place on it, it remains the best place to go to spot much of Aru's fauna, especially the birds of paradise and the cockatoos. Wallabies and cassowries may also be seen deeper in the forest. The island's main village is Kobadangar.

Pulau Workai/Barakai

The largest island in South-East Aru is home to 4 villages: the twin villages of Longgar-Aparra as well as Bemun in the south, and Mesian in the north. These villages are as traditional as any in Aru, and thus an interesting diversion to visiting the nature reserves. The interior of the island is still forested, though down south it has more open landscape somewhat remiscent of Australia.

Pulau Kelapa

Looking south-east from Longgar-Aparra, 2 long, narrow atoll islands can be seen. Named Jin and Jeud on the maps, they are aptly called Pulau kelapa (Coconut Island) by the locals. They are the closest islands of the SE Aru Marine Reserve to Workai and an easy day-trip. Don't expect too much in the way of snorkelling possibilities though. Much of the coral in these parts has been damaged and the waters aaround here also tend to be somewhat murky.

Pulau Jeh

Further south in the marine reserve are the islands of Mar and Jeh. They are mostly covered in native vegetation, and there is a good chance of spotting turtles in the surrounding waters. Jeh in particular is known as a favoured nesting spot of hawksbill turtles. This means if you charter a boat to take you out there, your crew will likely run off to collect turtle eggs! Since you may prefer not to be the one to actually facilitate such plunder, make sure you specify that they will NOT be allowed to do so when negotiating the charter. Seeing the turtles nest here is made difficult by the fact that when the tide is high, the water level reaches the edge of the dense bush, making walking along the beach hard or even impossible.

Pulau Enu

The most famous island in the marine reserve, Enu is also SE Maluku's best known "turtle island". Locals throughout Aru will tell you that there are plenty of turtles here - which is sadly no longer true (see below). Turtles apart, Enu has beautiful, casuariana-lined white sand beaches, decent coral reefs that might be good for snorkelling when the seas are calm, and a lighthouse you can climb for some sweeping views. The interior is bushy, much of it taken up by a swmpy lake that is said to be home to crocodiles. Megapodes and monitor lizards are commonly seen here, too. Unfortunately, mosquitoes are equally plentiful.

The Turtles of Enu

Enu has long had a reputation as the richest turtle nesting ground in all Maluku, and is supposed to be the most precious island of the marine reserve for this reason.  Once upon a time a Dutch lady remembered as Miss Kiki used to live on the island and patrol it nightly to ensure that both the nesting turtles and their eggs survived largely unharmed. Since she left, things have deteriorated sharply. These days the nesting turtles are captured on the beach at night, caught in nets stretched out in front of the beaches, and even further out at sea. Much of the hunting is done by locals from Workai, but to make things worse, boats come from as far afield as Bali. Unsurprisingly, turtle numbers have declined sharply. Once Enu had 40-50 turtles coming ashore each night, during my stay there, only 3 turned up. Virtually every nesting turtle is now captured and slaughtered, with their meat bought by Chinese businesses. Idealistic ecotourists may now find visiting Enu a very disturbing experience!

Birdwatching

Cassowries, palm and sulphur-crested cockatoos, greater and king birds of paradise as well as numerous species of parrots can all be seen in this region. Pulau Baun is the very best spot, and the best season to see the male birds of paradise display is said to be Aug-Oct. Note that as hunting is still happening even on Baun, the birds are quite shy and can take time to track down. Photographing them can also be difficult for the same reason, though it will be easier to take snaps of captive birds you may come across in the villages, like this young cassowry.

Watching Wildlife

If anything, the mammalian fauna of Aru, mostly nocturnal marsupials, is even harder to spot than the birds. Still, if you are dedicated enough, you have a chance to see pademelons (little "kangaroos"), beautiful spotted cuscuses, and bandicoots. Again, all these species are hunted for food, and captive specimens may sometimes be seen in the villages.

Kramat

The villages here have plenty of the offering places you may already have seen on Wamar: piles of plates under trees, in bushes, in rock crevices and wherver local spirits are known to dwell.

House-offerings

Remiscent of Balinese r Chinese traditions, little home altars to place offerings to spirits can also be found in the houses here, peacefully coexisting with crucifixes and portraits of Jesus or the Virgin Mary.

Rumah Adat

Each village has a rumah adat or "traditional house", used for storing traditional heirlooms. The one in Longgar has sadly been modernized when the visiting Chinese bupati (regent) of Aru expressed his dismay at the traditional, tatched structure, but the one in neighbouring Aparra remains authentic. The one in Mesian is similar, but much smaller.