The Jakarta Post - WEEKENDER   |  Fri, 05/22/2009 2:54 PM  |  Trends
A honeymoon does not have to cost a fortune. Hana Miller and her groom found an idyllic spot that offered the newlyweds some work as well as play.

Once you buy into the deluxe version of a romantic honeymoon spent somewhere exotic in an over-the-top hotel suite, with a heart-shaped bathtub and “complimentary” rose petals, where you can have a candlelit breakfast, lunch and dinner, you run the risk of spending the entire time worrying about the credit card bill that you’re going to have to pay when the champagne and strawberries run out. In which case, this may not be the best way to start a marriage.

Obviously this is a gross generalization. But the fact is that the words “overindulgent” and “honeymoon” do tend to go hand in hand. We all know that weddings in general can be stressful periods, which is why the perfect honeymoon is the most relaxing one. But that doesn’t mean you have to pay top dollar just to laze on the beach all day. If time is money then you’re paying precious pennies for the illusion of “doing nothing”. Get creative, and you might just find that time is much more than money and that a romantic getaway can be found in the least expected places.

My husband Jacob and I had our wedding in New Zealand. For many of our faraway family and friends, we might as well have decided to get married in Antarctica. So to make the most of the long trip over, many of them extended their visits to incorporate some time to travel around the country. One of our friends came early to volunteer through World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF), an international network of hosts who are willing to take in travelers interested in experiencing organic lifestyles.

By signing up as a member, our friend had received a book with listings and contact details of all the hosts in the country, including descriptions of the kind of accommodation, food and experiences they offered in exchange for four to six hours of work a day. Her book was filled with multicolor pen marks, noting which places she thought sounded good and which didn’t. There was mention of blueberry farms, waterfalls, citrus orchards, log cabins, natural springs and more of the stuff that dreams are made of.

One of the places that she had marked with a big yellow star was on Waiheke Island, a place famous for its vineyards just off of New Zealand’s northern peninsula, at a small cottage industry that grew organic lavender, geraniums and olives for oil, as well as grapes for wine. The description was tempting: “situated in 120 acres of regenerating bush close to beautiful beaches”.

And the photos were dreamy. An image of a rustic little thatch-roofed gazebo perched among rows of bright purple lavender bushes won us over. Jacob and I had been so caught up in coordinating the wedding that we hadn’t thought at all about what we would do afterward. Taking time out somewhere beautiful in exchange for putting in some time to help keep the place beautiful, sounded perfect.

When we finally arrived, after a ferry ride in the morning sun, a scenic drive through rolling hills with the big blu