Hi Team,

Long time reader first time contributor...

I am in the final stages of planning a trip to Vava'u to target Blues, have a crack at a few other species, and also spot the odd humpback or two. We are currently planning on heading up early October and are heading out with Steve Campbell. We met Steve at the boat show last week and found him to be a great guy, and after reading his book thought we would see all the action in the flesh.

My questions are:
Is early Oct the best time of year to go to achieve the above? (Seems to be from the info ive been able to trawl up).
Any suggestions for places to stay? We have contemplated staying at Hakula Lodge(now that Steve's Ika Lahi is out of action) but thought it might be a bit awkward if we are heading out with Steve as there would be a bit of a conflict of interest! Any other suggestions as we have looked at Mystic Sands and it seems a little steep for what we are after which is a clean twin bed room not too far from the water or near the water.
Any other advice or tips or ideas on what to expect on the area I would be more than happy to take on board too. 

I second heading out with Kurt GT fishing. It's so worth the trip out on the reefs since you will be over there. Jeff is a good man so if you like give him the option of seeing if you can stay there.

All the best with your trip. Last time I was over there I caught a few nice GT's and of course some Blues.

Grunta - Thanks for the link. I have to say I have read that post many times over and are appreciative of all the info it provides. Definitely whets the appetite too! Hopefully we get into a solid blue like that one your daughter (?) landed. I suppose another relevant question to ask - We are mainly after Blues and are heading out with Steve with that being the main priority, but say we ticked that box relatively early do you think GTs are worth an effort even for us who generally have marlin tunnel vision?

Ian and Vanessa at Vavau Villas are great hosts and good friends with Steve.

I've stayed at Mystic sands and it was fine however I would agree that the price is quite expensive for what it is. Sand is definitely mystical as it's more harbour dirt than anything. We were also ripped off for the taxi price into Neiafu nearly everytime we went in by the people that work there as they were supposed to have a set price. I wouldn't stay there again. Should be a few Humpbacks still lingering but some would have started migrating southwards again by then.

Yeah mate, hes in the process of getting his new boat - Blue Marlin Magic up to the islands at the moment. Check out his facebook page (Blue Marlin Magic) to keep up to date if you are interested.

Ended up booking 5 days with him and also ended up booking accommodation with Jeff LeStrange, but just cant wait to get up there. If any one has any other suggestions in terms of other things not to miss - experiences, places to eat, spots to explore etc definitely let me know.