TWO years and more than 2500km later, a message sent in a bottle by a New Zealand student has been received on the Gold Coast.

Ros and John vander Wyk were walking along Mermaid Beach a few weeks ago when they saw something shiny in the sand.

It was a letter on a piece of paper which had been stuffed in a plastic bottle and thrown into the ocean off Dunedin in November, 2013.

media_camera Ros and John Vander Wyk found a message in a bottle at Mermaid Beach during an afternoon walk from a young girl from New Zealand. They're trying to find the girl. Picture: Jerad Williams

The couple from Clear Island Waters now want to track down its author — a seven-year-old girl called Alyssa.

“My name is Alyssa, I am a student from Saint Francis Xavier School, a primary school in Dunedin, New Zealand,” the letter reads.

“Life in Dunedin is going well, the harbour is so beautiful.

“I am seven years old, I hope things are going well in your country.”

media_camera Ros and John Vander Wyk found a message in a bottle at Mermaid Beach during an afternoon walk from a young girl from New Zealand. They're trying to find the girl. Picture: Jerad Williams

The young girl then gives an email address for her teacher, Jeremy Morgan who the couple later contacted.

“It was lucky she did it in pencil,” Ms vander Wyk said.

“It was a bit wet so we left it to dry in the back of the car for about a week.

“I thought it would be nice if she could keep the bottle — she’s still young enough that they like to keep things like that.”

Mr Morgan replied to an email sent by the Gold Coast Bulletin and said Alyssa had since moved to Australia.

“Alyssa has since moved from our school, shifted to Australia and I think (it) is north of Brisbane and south of Cairns,” he wrote.

media_camera Ros and John Vander Wyk found a message in a bottle at Mermaid Beach during an afternoon walk from a young girl from New Zealand. They're trying to find the girl. Picture: Jerad Williams

“Alyssa was seven years old and I guess she’s 10 now.

“I am Australian myself (Melbourne) and was delighted to hear that something we did in class three years ago should stand the test of time and travel and make it to the mainland.

“Alyssa must of been in a small group of children that were taken to a cliff top here in Dunedin with a parent where they threw it over.

“The note was typed or written in class, I encouraged them to go and throw it in the sea in their own time — but I specifically remember Alyssa telling me the following school day.”