Best route around South Pacific

Hi all,
I am now in my second year of travelling, just stopping in Auckland for 6 months to work and save some more. I am looking to head out around the South Pacific islands at some point and wondering what the best route to take. The main places I'm looking to go would be
-Tonga
-Vanuatu
-Somoa
And possibly Cook islands or Fiji?

Can anyone suggest the best islands/route which is the most cost effective? I know there aren't a lot of direct flights around the South Pacific and most have to fly back to Fiji or NZ.

Any help would be much appreciated :-)

For minimal backtracking, you could fly NZ-Vanuatu-Fiji- Samoa-Fiji-Tonga-NZ.
The Cooks would require flying via NZ.

We'd also be interested in suggestions here. We are heading out oz/nz in October/Nov with Fiji a definite. Trying to look at other destinations whilst in the area

The best thing to do is to base out of Nadi as that is the hub for the whole South Pacific.

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