Scary snake - not!

Had a bit of a fright today. As hubby was about to leave after lunch he retreated into the kitchen and commented "That is surely a nasty one...???" I could tell it must be something serious so I shoo-ed the cat and dog inside and off we went to investigate. We found this guy/girl leaving the pathway.

Mole Snake (Pseudaspis cana) 

At first sight it seemed very black and shiny so we immediately thought that it might be a mamba. I e-mailed the photo to a local guy in town who relocates snakes and also consulted Google. Upon investigation we identified it as a Mole Snake, and as we have a lot of Mole Rats in the garden, we are content to keep it here. As the snake-guy commented, so many people would just have killed the snake, not worrying if it is actually there for a reason or in fact helpful to humans. 
Read some more about Mole Snakes here.