Marty’s African Adventure

Tanzania and Kenya don’t exactly roll off the tongue when you think of the stereotypical honeymoon destinations. There aren't many white sandy beaches and few Mai Tais, but that didn’t discourage Swans defender Marty Mattner and wife Chelsea from making the long trek over to Africa to experience the journey of a lifetime.

The newlyweds flew over in late October and spent two weeks on safari through Kenya’s Maasai Mara National Reserve and Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park.

Used to going up against Lions, Tigers and Bears on the football field, Mattner got to experience coming face-to-face with Africa’s ‘Big Five’ in their natural habitats. As well as the big game, there were also countless wildebeest, giraffes, zebras and gazelle to view in an area famous for the great migrations of its herds.

Now back in Sydney, and with pre-season training meaning the honeymoon is well and truly over, Marty takes us through some of the best snaps from his African tour through the comfort - and safety - of your own screen. Hakuna Matata!

In the canopy of our van in the Serengeti about to start the trip

A herd of elephants under the tree in the Serengeti

This is a cheetah on top of one of the water tanks in the Serengeti. The whole time we were there, there was a car waiting to use the tank but they couldn’t. We were there about 45 minutes and they were still waiting when we left

Some zebra roaming the plains

A leopard relaxing after a kill and feed. If you look closely at the paws you can still see a bit of blood

A herd of wildebeest on the move

This looks like just a regular herd of elephants, but they are actually gathering around a mother giving birth. Our guide reckons this was just the second elephant birth he had ever seen in his 30 years in the business. Word must get out amonst the other guides because within 30 minutes there was another 10 to 20 cars around.

If you look through the circle you can just make out the newborn's trunk

Up close with some giraffe...

and another leopard.

This elephant is having a nice feed, but it's actually blocking our access across the bridge. We were pretty lucky because we only had to wait 20 minutes to get across, but on our way back before we turned off there was a queue of 20 cars waiting to get across. The only other way to clear the bridge is a 10 km detour where you have to drive through the river.