Tasmanian ranger finds mysterious message in a bottle washed up on Macquarie Island
A message in a bottle travelled more than 7000 kilometres across the ocean in four years to be discovered by a Tasmanian ranger on Macquarie Island.
The glass wine bottle was found with its cork intact and concealing a letter from a supposedly the Polish author, according to a post from antarctica.gov.au to Facebook on Friday.
Stella, a Tasmania Parks and wildlife ranger, found the treasure on the island, about half way between New Zealand and Antarctica, and used a pair of forceps to remove the letter.
Upon first glance, the single piece of white paper appeared to be blank, but after some patient perseverance and shading over top with a pencil, a message was revealed.
“Hi, my name is ????. I am from Poland (Europe). I am during a trip to Bouvet Island. Today is April 6th 2015. If you find this message, send email. My email address is 'JUDBAS@....PL',” the visible parts of the letter read.
According to their internet searches, a “polar cruise ship had travelled to Bouvet Island, a Norwegian volcanic island in the Southern Ocean, south west of Cape Town, during April 2015”.
“But as to who wrote the message in a bottle and dropped it in the ocean – the mystery remains,” the post read.
They also shared photos of the bottle, which appeared in pristine condition and clear of any marks or scratches.
A typed up transcription of the message was also shared in a photo alongside the bottle.
Their detective work was praised by many people in comments, with the incredible find being dubbed “awesome” and “so cool”.
“Wow Bouvet Island! All the way to Macquarie! This is so cool!,” one person wrote.
“Interesting finding a real message in a bottle,” another said.
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