A bottle of wine with a letter inside appeared on an Australian beach more than a decade after being thrown into the Atlantic Ocean, on the other side of the world.
Local Tony made the surprising discovery while walking on the beach in Peterborough, south-west Victoria, on Monday.
He later shared photos of the green glass bottle, which was covered with dozens of shells on one side, on Facebook.
The bottle was thrown into the ocean about 50 kilometers off the coast of Brazil, between Rio de Janeiro and Salvador, on November 3, 2008.
‘Greetings, your curiosity has paid off. Thank you for retrieving this bottle and taking the time to see what was inside,” the letter said.
“I have placed bottles like this in several oceans in different places around the world in the hopes that people like you can find this bottle and return the note to me in the United States.”
The perpetrator was American Joe Johnson, who dumped dozens of empty wine bottles into oceans around the world while on overseas cruises.
Johnson said he threw the bottles in the hope that someone would find them and come back to him.
The empty wine bottle (pictured) was found on a beach in Peterborough, south-west Victoria, on Monday.
“I would appreciate it if you would send me this note so I know how far the bottle traveled and for how long,” he wrote.
“To make my experiment worth participating in, I will send you $20 (US) upon receipt of this note.”
Johnson, who lives in the small town of Towson, Maryland, was surprised to learn that his letter washed up on the shores of Australia.
“My wife and I went on a lot of cruises, I don’t remember that specific bottle,” he said. ABC Radio Melbourne on Tuesday.
“It’s very interesting… especially because it came from Brazil to Australia.”
Rio de Janeiro is more than 13,100 kilometers from the coastal city of Peterborough, Victoria.
Johnson, who wrote the letter (pictured), stated that he would give $20 (US) to the person who found the scroll and returned it to the US.
Johnson added that it is very rare for someone to notify him that one of the hundreds of bottles he has discarded has been found.
The veteran traveler promised to keep his word when asked if he would keep his promise to give beachgoer Tony $20.
Surprised social media users were quick to express their excitement over the rare discovery.
‘How fantastic! I love it!’ one person wrote.
Another added: ‘It’s arrived in Australia, how amazing!
“Wow, that’s a lot of time floating up and down in the ocean,” chimed in a third.
Many urged the store that found the bottle to claim the promised money.
Others were fascinated by the distance the bottle traveled.
It’s a truly fascinating find! To think he has survived 16 years in the ocean,” one person wrote.
This is amazing! What a find. If only that bottle could talk, what an adventure,” another person wrote.