Message in a bottle's 21-year journey from Picton to Chatham Islands

It's the result every child hopes for - after bottling a message and setting it adrift 21 years ago, Blenheim's Courtney Stevenson has finally heard back.

The message in a bottle released from Shelley Beach, in Picton, has been uncovered about 830 kilometres away in the Chatham Islands.

An eight-year-old Courtney wrote and sealed the message in a 330ml Sprite bottle in March, 1995.

The bottle was discovered by Chatham Islands resident Richard Goomes​ while walking on the beach.

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The message offered Courtney's name, date, location and a request to contact her once the message was received.

Goomes' search was made all the harder as Courtney's surname had disintegrated off the note.

"It was quite fragile and falling to bits, so I took the plastic bottle home and cut it with a knife," he said.

"It's been floating around for a very long time.

"I was surprised at how old it was - it could have been to Antarctica and back for all we know."

Goomes and his family attempted to contact Courtney on the phone number included in the note, which was disconnected. 

A search on social media took only "eleven-and-a-half hours" to track down Courtney and inform her of the message discovery.

"Courtney was rapt that we found it," he said.

"For me, I've finally found a message in a bottle.

"I spend a lot of time on the beach - I even said to my dog that day 'I wonder when we're going to find a message in a bottle'.

"And bugger me, there it was."

Goomes predicted it was the force of Cyclone Pam last year which washed the bottle ashore. He had laminated the letter to preserve its state. 

Courtney Stevenson declined to comment.