 Our next stop was right over on the east coast of Tasmania: Swansea, a sweet little town with a very big afternoon sea breeze. Make that a howling gale! Even so, musk lorikeets were flocking. We planted ourselves in Swansea for a few days to have easy access to the highlights of the east coast. Depending on the weather, we could head further north if we so chose. In the end, we chose to see Freycinet, and stay close in Swansea, because when that wind died down, the sun was out and it was almost swimming weather (but not quite!). Best of all we enjoyed the short walk around the headland in the centre of town, and figuring out what those brightly coloured “really green” parrots were – were they the green rosellas we thought we had been seeing all along? Nope, they were musk lorikeets, heaps of them, and they were feasting on the red-flowering gum trees which were in full bloom. These birds are not as shy as some of the other parrots, so they are great fun to watch and photograph. Venturing on the headland walk, once again we thought of the original indigenous inhabitants because this was once their walk around what was once no doubt a superb place for fish and seafood. Swansea is a bit sheltered from the open seas because it is in behind Freycinet peninsular.
A SAD HISTORICAL TALEThe walk took us around some of the historic parts of the town including the original cemetery and some of the remaining historical houses, including Schouten House. We learnt from the local history that a tragedy was linked to this house. Our walk past the cemetery led us to an historical gravesite of six children, all from the Large family. They, with their parents, were coming to Swansea on the Resolution which anchored just offshore. A storm arose, and the ship was imperilled and a rescue was mounted. Neither Mr and Mrs Large, nor the adult rescuers, were able to save any of their six children, now buried together in a quiet corner of the cemetery. (The Schouten House website provides more on this story.) We paused to remember them (aged from two years to twelve) and contemplate what might have been if they had survived, and the unbearable grief their parents must have suffered. A shy eastern rosella flew in from a nearby pine tree, and shared the moment with us. We savoured that moment and moved on, grateful for our good fortune.
Swansea is a good pitstop with two IGA grocery stores, a good pub (it was buzzing the night we went), a fresh fish shop called the Horny Cray where we procured excellent fresh salmon, and a couple of gift shops. It also made for an easy drive out to the Frecinyet Peninsula, which is our next instalment. Not to mention, a hotspot for seeing the muskies! 
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