Remember there was a time postcard were all the rage? In the 1980’s and early 90’s everyone going on holiday would make sure they send back a postcard to a loved one to show them how they were having fun.
Today postcards are still being shipped from various destinations in the world, the year 2014, the US post office sent a record 770 billion postcards.
Postcards are finding life in some unusual places such as underwater postboxes.
To post mail, you have to wear scuba gear dive a few meters in water and post your letter.
Moreover, the letter can only be retrieved by staff wearing scuba gear. The question is, however, where are said post boxes found?
Let’s take a journey together and discover their locations.
Vanuatu Hideaway Island
Also famous for the only mailbox sitting pretty on top of a live volcano, Hideaway Island is an attractive tourist destination that offers travelers the chance to dive three meters deep underwater to reach a mailbox.
The mailbox can be accessed by divers and snorkelers who carry with them waterproof postcards. Post office staff are on standby to help those that are unable to dive down that deep.
The postal staff manning the mailbox gather letters daily and ensure that they’re delivered promptly.
Divers are exposed to the beauty the island has to offer below the surface. They swim through warm coral waters next to sea turtles and beautiful pieces of coral as they make their way to the mailboxes.
With Vanuatu’s majestic coral reefs, it seems the underwater mailbox was set up to have people going underwater to witness the beauty that is below!
Japan’s Susami Bay
For a time, Sasami’s 33 feet deep mailbox held the record as being the deepest underwater mailbox in the world.
In 1999, the then postmaster (Toshihiko Matsumoto) decided to create an underwater mailbox that would attract pilgrims that pass through the small fishing town annually. An event that has been featured in the town for millenniums.
The underwater mailbox is visited by divers that purchase waterproof postcards at a local dive shop.
They use an oil-based marker to write their message and an employee of the store dives in the water to retrieve the posted letters every few days and delivers them at the post office for mailing.
Records show that the mailbox receives between 1000 and 1,500 pieces of mail annually. More than 32,000 letters have been posted in the underwater mailbox since its inception, and that means its creation was a wise idea and investment.
Malaysia’s Pulau Layang-Layang
Sitting at a staggering 131 feet below water, Pulau Layang-Layang underwater post box is unofficially the deepest mailbox. The mailbox was set up on July 25th, 2015 and is awaiting verification before being officially recognised as the deepest underwater mailbox.
The waterproof postcards carry a special postmark, and they’re stamped with a Malaysia’s Book of Records logo making them collectable items. The underwater mailbox is overseen by two postmen 35-year-old Ritchie Lester Lee and 25-year-old Victory Marden.
As a mailbox enthusiast, consider visiting one or all the above locations. These are mailboxes setup to help divers enjoy the thrill of posting mail underwater and hold said memories dear. If you know of other puzzling post boxes around the world, do let us know!