'We'd come here to get away from bickering about screens but had plunged back further: to the Eocene'

Other families have spread on to the finest beaches - but how often do you travel an inner-city waterway and happen upon 'bats, bats, bats, and more bats'?This is part of a series in which great Australian writers tell us about their summers away from the beachMy son and I drive 10 minutes from home to the venerable Fairfield Park boathouse. We study a list of river-faring craft and choose a two-seater kayak. He likes sitting at the front, he tells me, so he can pretend he's alone. I like sitting at the back so I can watch him grow before my eyes.On the river we make a show of synchronised paddling but, when we're out of sight, we let ourselves drift downstream. Eucalypts overhang the water and we float through reflections of twisting branches, making them ripple. Ducks come and race us. Parrots skitter through the trees that line the banks. Only the appearance of a bridge connecting the Eastern Freeway reminds us we're mere kilometres from Melbourne's city centre.Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best reads Continue reading...