New Delhi, June 20 -- "Look, lion!"

Our guide stopped our land cruiser and pointed to a large male sunning himself by a formation of rocks. We immediately looked out of the window. Not with the mad enthusiasm of a week ago, but keen enough. "Stop?" the guide asked, and received a unanimous yes.

It was our eighth day in the savannah and we'd seen more than our fill of the big cats, but an unobstructed view of a grown lion sprawled and resplendent in his natural habitat is not one you just pass without pause or comment.

We had begun our Kenyan safari by driving south-east from the Nairobi airport towards the Amboseli National Park, famed for its stunning views of Mount Kilimanjaro and the herds of African Bush elephants that roam the dus...