A couple of tourists got the fright of their lives when a lion jumped on the back of their pickup truck while they were driving through a South African safari.

Another spectator on the safari watched and took pictures of the ferocious beast as it inspected a white pickup that was driving through the Lion Park in Gauteng, South Africa.

Before the curious wild cat decided to hitch a ride in the truck, it circled the vehicle and sniffed the wheels, reports Mirror.co.uk. It then jumped in the truck and began to inspect it.

Fortunately for the tourists in the truck, it didn't take long before the lion lost interest and jumped out to return to its pride.

Laura Botes, a 48-year-old personal assistant from South Africa, says she witnessed the terrifying experience first-hand back in April 2011. However, it was only recently that she decided to share the pictures along with her story on Facebook.

"We were driving behind the white truck and they spotted the lions and stopped to take photos," wrote Botes on Facebook.

"We also stopped and started taking photos. A couple of metres away, a lioness was drinking water from a small pool when the male approached her and started lashing at her. She ran away to join the pride. The male then turned around, and saw the white truck. He slowly approached the truck and started sniffing around it. The next moment he jumped onto the truck and started sniffing around the back. There were two passengers in the truck -- a lady and a gentleman -- we could see their panic-stricken faces through our front window. They did not move while the lion was in the back of the truck," she recalled.

"As we were in the car behind, we were scared as we were very close and unsure as to what the lion was up to. The lion must have spent about five minutes in the back of the truck before jumping down and walking away."