 His travels took him through trackless forest, over the high Ruahine Range and across the Rangipo Desert and past the mountains of Ruapehu and Tongariro to the shores of Lake Taupo.His use of existing Maori routes into the interior contributed greatly to the European exploration of the central North Island.One of his journeys, between December 1841 and February 1842, was across the North Island and up to the Kaipara Harbour.