For travel to and from Ternate, most or all participants will be traveling by air.  For participants arriving from outside of Indonesia, the most useful gateways are Jakarta and Makassar, though there are also daily non-stop flights from Surabaya and Manado.  For participants arriving from Europe or North America, Jakarta is probably the most convenient option, though if you wish to avoid Jakarta you can fly to Kuala Lumpur and Singapore and from there directly to Makassar.  Participants arriving from Australia should take note that there are no direct flights from Denpasar to Ternate — you have to transit in either Jakarta or Makassar.  

Note that if you need to stop overnight, there is a reasonably priced and very convenient hotel within the actual airport terminal at Makassar, the Cordia (recently renamed, used to be called Ibis) — https://cordiahotelmakassar.com/.