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Absolutely. "A few moments" is ample for anyone to get the a sense of the predators. The wind can change in seconds, the lions are never truly "fast asleep" and can cover 100m faster than Usain Bolt can ever hope to, if they get the scent of something they feel threatened by. Moving guests to safety is the correct course of action.

Plus, I think you want to resurrect the reputation of the wonderful SANParks guides.

Any more opinions ...

I cannot think that the field guide has any other option than to lead the group to safety. Unless he is family of the nutcase on TV that wants to make pals with wild lions.

Fully agree that if the lions are in the open with no cover around it is best not to go closer. He needs to consider wind direction too. If there is cover nearby, and the wind direction is right (blowing from the lions, not swirling at all) then he could have attempted a closer approach keeping to cover, after quickly reminding his guests about walking rules and signals, and checking that they would be comfortable with a closer approach too. But we need more information before really saying whether he was right or wrong!

Good opinions all. But ....

Obviously everything depends on the situation, which is impossible to describe in a few sentences.

Some more information on your own possibility of approaching behind cover would have helped.

But two males sleeping a 100 meters away in the open with the wind in your favour ...

Wind in your favour and sleeping ... the chance of them noticing you is not that good.
100 meters ... very far, you should be able to approach up to 50 or 60 meters depending on cover.
Two males ... the usual reaction, if they wake up and do notice you ... they should run away.
Males alone ... no females ... not mating ... no kill ... more reason to suspect they will run if they spot you.

I think EJ is the closest.

If someone else has a question please go ahead! Just at the moment I am struggling to stay awake so will take a while to post something intelligible....

My take is that the guide took the right decision .
The aim of walking in the wilderness should not be to experience excitement by approaching animals up close , but to observe from a distance in silence .

OK, let's try this....

Our guide now decides it is time for a break. He leads the group towards a seasonal river where he knows there is a fairly shallow pool of water and a nice shady tree on a bank where they can sit and watch.

On the way he points out that they are on a path made by a hippo as it has a middle ridge, and also points out some hippo dung sprayed against bushes along the path.

They get to the break point, and he points out a lone hippo lying in the water before putting his rifle down carefully, and starting to get out the snacks for the break. The group settle down and begin to relax while watching the hippo and wondering if anything will come to drink.

Has he made the right decision? If yes, why? If not, why not?

Wrong decision .
There is little water around (seasonal shallow pool inhabited by hippo - thus high possibility that there is population pressure) and evidence of recent and regular use of the path (middle ridge and dung spraying) which indicates the possibility of more hippo grazing in the shade in the area , and being close to the water with the possibility of hippo returning to the water as it is obviously daytime and possibly getting hotter ...

Never be in a position where you may be between a hippo and its water pool .

Besides the above a single hippo in a small pool of water indicates population pressure as a result of dry conditions and also may indicate it is injured (or sick) and in this situation they may be agressive and charge with little warning .

Wise decision Ndloti. How many times have we read about people that have been killed by hippos whilst walking on their paths. People often consider it very convenient to walk hippo paths instead of the thick bush on the banks of rivers and dams.

Will wait until later today and then post the answer.

2 reasons why he is wrong - Ndloti has given one, and the other is that a hippo in shallow water does not always feel safe and may suddenly charge out at anything that appears threatening.

So Ndloti - IT!

This may seem silly :

The trails officer stops the group for lunch , the daypacks contain snacks and drink containers bought from the camp shop ... after lunching he stands up where he was sitting ,the group leaves without the leader paying much attention to the surroundings ...

One of the mistakes that the guide has made is not to check the surroundings. One or more of the tourists may have eaten oranges for lunch. Elephants are very fond of citrus fruits and may have smelled the fruits and came to investigate. BTW, elephants at Mana Pools, Zimbabwe will demolish your tent and all containers if there are oranges inside. But generally speaking, I would think that most food stuff will, will draw some attention from animals.