This unique cache is part of the fun going on around Leap Day 2024. It is a Buddy Multi Cache.
You will need to read the cache description all the way through to get what you need to find this cache, sign the log and possibly make a new friend in the process. Good luck!
This is a bi-continent / two country buddy multi-cache; one is in Texas and the other is in Australia.
The posted coordinates of one cache will give you the final coordinates for the other one. But unless you have unlimited funds and/or frequent flyer miles, getting a buddy in the other country will be your best chance of getting the coordinates for the cache near you!
How we became the Hutto Hippos!
According to local legend, it was in 1915 that a circus train stopped in Hutto at the depot to take on passengers, pick up and deliver mail and possibly take on water and fuel for the steam locomotive. The circus train workers also would have taken this opportunity to care for their animals. At some point during this historic layover, the hippo got away from its trainer and made its way to the nearby Cottonwood Creek. The wet creek conditions suited the hippo just fine and it refused to move. This caused much consternation for the circus workers. Local farmers and merchants watched the commotion in amusement and with interest as unsuccessful efforts were made to extricate the hippopotamus from the muddy waters of Cottonwood Creek. It is said that the Depot Agent, who at that time would have been Hal Farley, Jr., telegraphed the communities of Taylor and Round Rock that were eight miles to the east and west of Hutto to the effect of: “STOP TRAINS, HIPPO LOOSE IN HUTTO." After much effort, the hippo was prodded from the mud and water that resembled its natural habitat and was reloaded back onto the train car. Soon afterward, the Hutto School adopted the hippopotamus as its mascot, and as early as 1923, the hippo appeared on official Hutto High School graduation announcements.
Today there are more than 3,000 hippos all around town!
The sister cache for this one is GCAHW00 called - Letters to Adelaide.
Go to the posted coordinates for this cache and write down the coordinates you find at GZ. Those are the final for the cache in Adelaide. Post a note on that page telling cachers there that you have their final and would like to swap coordinates with them for the final in Texas.
About Adelaide -
Adelaide is the capital city of the state of South Australia. Adelaide is situated between Gulf St Vincent in the west and the Mount Lofty Ranges in the east. The city was named in honour of Adelaide, queen of King William IV.
The city was founded in 1836 as the planned capital for the only freely-settled British province in Australia. Colonel William Light designed the city centre and chose its location close to the River Torrens. Light's design, listed as national heritage, set out the city centre in a grid layout and entirely surrounded by a ring of park lands.
Early colonial Adelaide was shaped by the diversity of its free settlers, in contrast to the convict history of other Australian cities. From this religious freedom and progressive political reforms Adelaide became known as the "City of Churches".
The original first nation inhabitants of the Adelaide region are the Kaurna mob. The area of the city centre and surrounding park lands is called Tarndanya in the Kaurna language.
I hope you have fun and maybe find a new friend in Australia - I did!
NOTE - This is a "Buddy" cache between Adelaide, Australia and Hutto,Texas. It is not a "two-fer" and you must log the physical cache in Texas to claim a find. The buddy part refers to a cacher in Australia who helps you get the final coordinates to this one. You should not log this cache for them and they should not log the sister cache in Australia for you. You should only log both if you go to both countries!