Heather Rooken-Smith

‘Daisy’s Daughter, Our Lives for Africa’, a self-published autobiography, is author, Heather Rooken-Smith’s first book. She will celebrate her 84th birthday in November 2017 and lives with her son Keith and his wife Mary at their guest Lodge in the far north of Namibia alongside the mighty Zambezi River.

Caprivi River Lodge is a tranquil haven of thatched cottages set under a canopy of shady trees and surrounded by lush green lawns and flora with an abundance of bird-life, hippo, crocodile and vervet monkeys. Heather has come to think of the monkeys as the ‘Little People’.

The internet keeps Heather connected to her readers, family and friends around the world as she relaxes on the Lodge's verandah, writing and answering mail with Africa’s comforting sounds around her – cicadas, the call of the African Fish Eagle, chattering vervet monkeys at play and hippo splashing and snorting in the Zambezi as it passes on its aeons-old 2,574 km flow to the Indian Ocean.

Heather's parents, Lionel Carol and Daisy, instilled in her an appreciation of books and knowledge. She's been an avid reader since childhood, loves poetry, history and geography, and keeps abreast of world news and sporting events - tennis is a firm favourite. Her other interests include fine embroidery, music, and photography, though when she was younger Heather was a keen gardener as she followed in Daisy’s footsteps.