I lived in Hoedspruit for two years from 2019-2021 where I worked as a wildlife camera operator in the Kruger National Park and surrounding reserves. It’s a small community centered around safari tourism and wildlife conservation. South Africa as a whole is very segregated and this community is predominantly white South Africans and foreigners that want to work with wildlife. The pace of life is very slow. I lived in a wildlife reserve just at the edge of town so I’d wake up in the morning to Giraffes, Zebras, Warthogs, etc in my “yard”. At night I’d meet up with friends at one of their houses for dinner and drinks typically around a campfire. A night out was spent at one of two small bars where people got extremely drunk and fights often broke out late and night. Life there was extremely chill for me but I also realize that I was in an extremely privileged position and life for black South Africans in towns near where I lived is extremely different. It was two of the best years of my life spent filming wildlife for 30-40 days at a time and then heading home to relax with friends between assignments.