Tegan’s Message in a Bottle

Karien Trengrove and her partner Darren Rodgers were on holiday, walking Shelly Beach, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. They were the only ones on the beach–there was no one around as far as the eye could see–and, under a bit of fog, the flat brown shore stretched off into the distance before and behind them.

And then, just like that, there it was.

Photo: Karien Trengrove

A beautiful, well-sealed message in a glass bottle–yay for not being plastic!.

Luckily, the message was legible. Here is what Karien and Darren found inside:

Photo: Karien Trengrove

My name is Tegan. I live on a farm and I am ten years old. My birthday is on the 28th of September. I have two dogs and a friend. Her name is Kimberly. The year is 2017.

Tegan’s message in a bottle was simple, sweet, and well made. Hurray!

“Wish there was a way to let 10 year old Tegan know that she made my day,” Karien wrote on her Facebook post sharing the images of the message.

Karien and Tornado after crossing the Namib desert together. Photo: Karien Trengrove.

“As a kid I thought [of] doing the same thing but never did it,” Karien told South Africa’s Times Live. “It is a romantic idea. It was a fun and unreal moment and a highlight of my day finding it. Imagine how happy she would be to know somebody found her cute message.” Considering her own childhood aspirations, Tegan’s message in a bottle must be especially meaningful for Karien.

The Search for Tegan

Folks, this is where you and I come in. Our job is to share Karien’s story until word reaches Tegan of the discovery! We’ve done it before, and we can do it again.

The beach where Karien found Tegan’s message in a bottle suggests that Tegan is either from South Africa, a bit north of Shelly Beach. Or, possibly, she was visiting the area when she sent her message in a bottle. It also could have come from a cruise ship off the coast–or maybe she sent it from the west coast of Madagascar. My reason for thinking of these possibilities is that the Agulhas current runs southward along the east coast of South Africa, like so (the balloon marks Shelly Beach where Karien found Tegan’s message in a bottle):

Let’s find Tegan! 🙂

***If you liked this story, click here to find me on Facebook and like my page for more message in a bottle stories! YOU could be the next one to solve a message in a bottle mystery! Click here to learn more about messages in bottles, and you can always contact me with questions, ideas, or stories.