If you speak to Rode in his Dojo in Zoomy Village, he will tell you that it is time you saw Master Tao. But, to be his pupil, you need a pass, like you needed the Apprentice Ring to get to Rode.
Graduation Test
Rode will tell you to talk to the Sphinx in the South Sandy Desert. You need to find a Certificate and bring it back to Rode. First of all, you need to speak to the Sphinx.
He will tell you that a snake somewhere in the South Sandy Desert has a key, called the Ivory Key. The Sphinx will tell you to find it and bring it to him. The snake is on the west side of the desert, and when you've found which one it is, bark and it will drop the key. Go and talk to the Sphinx again.
The Sphinx will tell you to go and sniff a glow, which will appear not far from the snake who had the key. Go up to it, and shake the remote to dig. Bring the Certificate back to Rode.
Rode will thank you, and tell you that he will let Tao know you are coming. He then tells you that Tao's dojo is in Gola Highlands, which is across the bridge in Green Meadows.
I want to cross the river
When you go to Grren Meadows, you may remember why you couldn't go to the Gola Highlands before. You will see Henry, a Basset hound wearing a Santa Hat, standing by the bridge with a question mark over his head. If you speak to him, he will tell you that he wants to get to the Gola Highlands, but the bridge is broken and he cannot get across. He asks you to go and get help, and he thinks that Goliath should be able to fix it.
Goliath's house is in Treely Woods. It is just down the road from the shortcut to Pupsville, but not as far as Obaba's house. Go inside and talk to Goliath. He will tell you that he will fix the bridge.
Fix the bridge, I want to
When Goliath and you automatically go back to the bridge in Green Meadows, he will realise that he doesn't have any nails, so he cannot fix the bridge. He asks you to run to Mary Theresa's store in Pupsville and get some Nails.
Talk to Mary Theresa and she will give you some nails. Now go back and talk to Goliath. He will thank you and fix the bridge, and now you can go past to the Gola Highlands.
Henry tells you that Gola Highlands is straight on when you cross the bridge. Infact the path isn't actually straight. You go past a Boar and up a slope and then you come to Gola Highlands.
Grand Master Tao
Gola Highlands is basically a load of cliffs with trees dotted around the place. Tao's dojo is near the top. If you go up the first slope, you will come to a wide gap which is too far to jump across. You need to go back and you will see a cave up a steep thin slope. Go up to it and select 'search', and you will find some elephant food. Go back down to the bottom of Gola Highlands and place it on the Tree Stump. An elephant will come over to eat and you can use it's back to get across the gap.