A group on a road trip through southern Africa were left stunned when they were confronted by a vast python on a road through Mozambique.

Footage shows members of the group getting out to look at the vast creature after it decided to stop in the middle of their convoy.

The snake, a South African rock python, can be seen hiding under a boat at the front of the group as the 12 travellers made their way down the track.

However, interest turned to concern after one road-trippers attempted to pull the snake from under the vessel and it began to slither onto a nearby Land Rover – prompting the driver to hop back in and reverse away from the animal.

“That thing is crazy,” one of the group could be heard saying as the snake began to move away from the road.

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“When it moved onto the bonnet of the car I was kind of confused and nervous because we didn’t know what to expect,” Thomas Bell, a member of the group, told South Africa’s News24.

Mr Bell added: “I couldn’t believe it. I had seen a snake in captivity, but I had never seen one up close.

“I was first in the convoy driving with my boat behind me. We came down a corner and it was lying across the road. We obviously stopped and everyone got out to have a look.”

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South African Rock Pythons can grow up to 18ft in length killing its prey through constriction before swallowing it whole.