The Piano: Karekare Beach to Nelson

This is where the story starts. Ada and her daughter Flora, with their handcrafted piano, are stranded on a New Zealand beach by a ship's crew. At the beach, George is entranced by her music. The landing was filmed at Karekare Beach, west of Auckland, during a 12-week shoot in 1992. Today Karekare is a small coastal settlement between the Waitākere Ranges and a large black sand surf beach.

Para el visitante: Karekare Beach lies on the west coast, west of Auckland.

The film's bush scenes were shot on two farms, one along Matakana Valley Road in Matakana. In the bush, George makes his bargain: he offers Alisdair the land he has been coveting in exchange for the piano and lessons from Ada. She restricts the lessons to the black keys only. The sources do not say which scenes used which farm.

Precisión del lugar: The location guide names Matakana Valley Road but not the farm, so the pin marks the town of Matakana.

The second bush farm was a 2,500 acre farm on Awakau Road, Awakino; the pin marks the nearby settlement, not the farm. In the bush the story turns dark: Ada sends George a piano key engraved with a love declaration, and Alisdair cuts off her index finger, depriving her of the ability to play.

Precisión del lugar: The farm is private and the pin marks the Awakino settlement, not the farm itself.

On the way to the ship, Ada asks George to throw the piano overboard. A rope catches her leg and she is dragged underwater with it in an attempt to drown herself. Then she appears to change her mind, struggles free and is pulled to safety. The underwater scenes were filmed at the Bay of Islands.

Precisión del lugar: The sources say only that the underwater scenes were filmed somewhere in the Bay of Islands.

In the epilogue Ada describes her new life with George and Flora in Nelson, where she gives piano lessons in their new home. George has made her a metal finger to replace the one she lost. Nelson is a city on Tasman Bay at the top of the South Island. It is the story's setting, not a filming site.

Precisión del lugar: The film names the city only; the pin marks Nelson's centre, and the film was not shot here.