October 1838 - November 1838

( 043 ) October 11th, 1838.
In the morning we were greeted with the surprising sight of Kangaroo Island(51); the southwestern coast is high and steep, and growth appears to be low. Since this island belongs to the new settlement, we saw it as part of our destination; hence the sight of it caused such great joy among the travelers. During the day several points of the coast could be seen, showing the Sct. Vincentgolf against West; Towards the evening some even wanted to see the high mountain (Mount Lofty(52)), which was greeted with three “Hurrahs”.

October 12th, 1838.
Yesterday everyone expected that we would reach Holdfast Bay(53) and drop anchor before evening; But in this hope we were deceived, as the wind was light, the gulf was long, and the water was shallow. This morning the wind was so light that we hovered close to the coast for hours until midday before we reached the anchorage. Now time was not wasted as everyone busied themselves with inspecting and assessing the country. The coast in the Adelaide area is completely flat, close to the beach there is a wraith of white shifting sand(54), immediately behind it is clay soil, almost level up to the chain of hills that stretches from west to east and which may be about 5 or 6 German miles from the sea; the Mount Lofty is the highest point in this chain. The mountain range is striking in that it runs from north to south and consists of nothing but blunt cones lying side by side, between which there are valleys that are said to be fertile.

At about twelve o'clock we finally dropped anchor, although we were still a short German mile from the shore. The ( 044 ) shallowness of the water does not allow the ship to come any closer. This causes great inconvenience when landing the goods, as everything first has to be packed into smaller vessels called barges, then into even smaller boats and finally brought through the water to dry land with human hands.

October 13th, 1838.
I would have liked to go ashore; but as the captain had gone to Adelaide the day before yesterday and did not return until this evening, everything was in confusion, and as a result my wish remained unfulfilled. His Excellency went ashore with his family and had tents brought to the shore from the city.

October 14th, 1838. Sunday.
Although it was Sunday, the disembarkation of emigrants and their goods continued all day. Since there was no thought of a church service, me and Teichelmann went ashore; When my foot first touched the soil of this land, I felt a heartfelt gratitude to the great benefactor who had so graciously protected me from all dangers on the treacherous waves of the sea and under the storms of the