"Beagle" reached the Cape of Good Hope on 31 May. In Cape Town, Darwin received a letter dated 29 December from his sister Caroline telling him that his fame was spreading. On 18 November 1835, Sedgwick had read extracts from Darwin's geological notes to the Geological Society of London, and this had been reported in "The Athenæum" on 21 November. On 25 December, their father received a letter from Henslow which said that Darwin would become one of the premier naturalists of the time and enclosed some copies of a book of extracts of Darwin's letters on South American geology which had been printed for private distribution. Their father "did not move from his seat till he had read every word of "your" book & he was very much gratified – he liked so much the simple clear way you gave your information". Darwin was horrified that his careless words were in print, but "No hay remedio" (it can't be helped). He explored the geology of the area, reaching conclusions about the slate formation and the injection of granite seams as a liquid which differed from the ideas of Lyell and Sedgwick. The zoologist Andrew Smith showed him formations, and later discussed the large animals living on sparse vegetation, showing that a lack of luxuriant vegetation did not explain the extinction of the giant creatures in South America.