They were sent to South Africa by the Museum at the behest of the Prussian government and travelled via England, where they met Sir Joseph Banks at Kew.
However, the Museum was not pleased as it felt the pair had squandered the grant made to them, part of which came from the House of Rothschild in Paris.
George Thom, the Scots missionary and minister, wrote to Hooker in 1824, claiming that "the collectors from Prussia spend their time in sloth and gaiety in Cape Town, and are now sunk lower than any Colonist".
After the termination of his contract, Mund drifted eastward, visiting Plettenberg Bay and Knysna and reaching Uitenhage.
Later Mund took up the position of land surveyor at Plettenberg Bay, with Maire deciding to practise medicine in Graaff-Reinet.