Airlie Beach in the Whitsundays, Australia

Thirty hours north of Sydney by bus — a little faster by train — is the popular beach resort destination called the Whitsunday Islands. I stayed in Airlie Beach, in a beautiful place high on a terraced hill overlooking the town. From my balcony, I had a panoramic view of Airlie Beach, the harbor and some of the islands on the way out to the Great Barrier Reef.

The third night there I awoke to a sound I could not place. It was loud, incessant and vaguely familiar. It sounded like someone cutting a huge cardboard box with a steak knife — all night long. In the morning I saw that a circus had rolled into town. They pitched their tents just below me in the open area right near the water. (On my drawing it would be at about 7 o’clock.)

The sound I heard all night was a lion’s roar. Just like the MGM film intro, only much longer. The next night, the elephant and monkeys joined in.