A family brought home more than a souvenir from their long weekend country getaway.
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A Native Wildlife Rescue Facebook posts reports the family, including two daughters aged nine and seven, were returning home from their trip yesterday.
However their journey was cut short when the woman driving spotted a snake on the floor next to her feet.
Thanks to some quick-thinking the male passenger was able to manoeuvre the car across busy Hume Motorway traffic.
The Native Wildlife Rescue post said all passengers jumped out of the car before the police were called.
"Southern Highlands Police re-tasked a highway patrol car to attend before contacting us directly for assistance in removing the snake," the post read.
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"Highway Patrol arrived promptly and not only provided a calming influence in a traumatic situation but transported the mother and children to the Mittagong shopping centre.
"On arrival of the [wildlife] rescuer, the snake was spotted briefly on the floor in the rear of the vehicle.
"It was highly alert and disappeared under the rear seat. The next sighting was also fleeting, as the snake disappeared up behind the dashboard."
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As the car was parked on the side of the busy highway the rescuer had trouble locating the snake due to noise and vibrations.
"Police also offered to provide a car with flashing lights to slow the traffic down to an acceptable noise level," the Facebook post said.
"The offer was declined as it would have resulted in a major delay to all northbound traffic for an indeterminate amount of time.
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"A decision was made to move the vehicle to a safer location and continue the rescue process there.
"The snake rescuer drove the car (with the snake under the dashboard) to Mittagong to a quieter, safer environment.
"The removal of a snake from the interior of a motor vehicle is one of the snake rescuer's worst nightmares as there are so many places for it to hide.
"But it couldn't stay unresolved as the mother and children wouldn't get in the car ever again."
After almost five-and-a-half hours the snake finally reappeared, was caught and contained.
"This leaves the question as to how the juvenile Tiger Snake got into the car in the first place?" the post read.
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"The spine-chilling backstory is the children have a small collection of sun-bleached animal skulls.
"They found and picked up a cow-skull in good condition from the paddock which they placed on the floor of the front passenger seat of the car.
"On a closer inspection of the skull it was seen the brain cavity provided a suitable and secure refuge for the snake and was most probable reason of how the snake came to be in the car.
"The kids will certainly have some stories to tell when they are back at school."
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