Curious message in bottle washes up on beach after wild 16-year journey

A man walking along a beach in Australia discovered a shock message in a bottle, revealing its wild 16-year journey in the ocean.
An Australian man going for a walk along the beach uncovered a washed up bottle with an interesting message inside 16 years after it was released from the other side of the world.
Victorian local Tony made the discovery this week when walking along the beach in Peterborough, with the letter revealing the bottle’s wild journey across the globe.
Taking to social media, a family member of Tony posted the note. It reads: “Your curiosity has paid off.”
“Thank you for recovering this bottle and taking the time to see what was inside.
“I have placed bottles like this one in several oceans at many different locations all over the world in the hope that people like you might find this bottle and return the note to me in the United States.”
The note explained the note was dropped in the Atlantic Ocean in November, 2008 before making its way to Australian shores.
In it, the sender left their names, address, and contact details, as well as asking for the lucky finder to respond so they could track where the message ended up.
“I would appreciate you sending me this note so I can find out how far the bottle travelled and for how long,” the note continued.
“To make it worth your while to participate in my experiment, I will send you $20 (US) upon receipt of this note. Please make sure to include your name and address.”
After posting the note online, an Australian radio station reached out to the sender named Joe Johnson from Maryland, US, to find out more about the origins of the message in a bottle.
Speaking with ABC Melbourne, Johnson said he and his wife had released the bottle between Rio and Salvadore off the coast of Brazil during a cruise.
“I’ve been to Australia and I probably threw a few bottles in the water there, but this one is from Brazil ,” he said.
“My wife and I took an awful lot of cruises, but I don’t remember that specific bottle. Every cruise we took … I probably threw a bottle or two in the water. It’s fun, especially if it came from Brazil to Australia.”
Locals weighed in on the man’s find, stunned at the discovery and the bottle’s journey.
“This is amazing! What a find. If only that bottle could talk, what an adventure,” one said.
Another added: “That’s a really fascinating find! To think it has survived 16 years in the ocean.”
One joked: “Bloody scammers go to extreme lengths these days to get all of your private details.”