Nairobi?

[usuallydormant]

I was wondering if any mnetters are in Nairobi?

I have an opportunity to do a two month posting in July / August (North city). We are currently looking at ways DH and the kids can come over for the summer. DH works from home so if there was a decent broadband connection it would be possible for him to work from home mixed with holidays but we also have 2 kids, 4 and 7 years. Are there any recommendations for good summer camps for kids we might use for a few weeks so he can also work? And any good leads on finding short term accommodation for a family? Realistically they will only come for 4 or 5 weeks. In fact any tips on family life or day trips in Nairobi greatly appreciated! I'm very excited about going but at the moment just trying to figure it all out!

Hi, I moved back from Nairobi a year ago.

Broadband - patchy and really depends on where you live. Officially, in Nairobi there is complete coverage - many people (and serviced appartments) have excellent broadband. We lived in a very woody area with a leadlined roof and even with a massive booster mast never got more than sporadic connection from the bottom of the garden. However there are internet cafes all over - which are cheap and you can get plugin dongle (which isn't cheap if you use it extensively, but affordable).

There are summer camps, but ours did things via their school. You could google, - there is a good tennis club in I think Lavington, various sports camps in the UN (Gigiri in the north), art club in Lavington. Worth enquiring via the prep schools whether yours could join the sports clubs run there as income generator. I'd guess they'd say yes. An alternative, if you have any contacts there, would be to explore paying the nanny of a family who are on leave to do your childcare. - The summer clubs don't tend to offer wraparound care so even for 11 year olds tend to be morning sessions or afternoon, so you do need an adult to drop off/pick up. Or worth seeing if you could do a driver share.

Also worth considering that the majority of the expat families leave for extended periods over the summer.

Short term accommodation - Yaya apartments have good broadband/pool etc but are in the south of the city; there is lots in the north - again worth looking on the websites of the UN agencies which are in the north of the city or google around Westlands/Gigiri/Spring Valley - though these are more expensive areas. Lots of the hotels run serviced apartments (Warwick centre in North; Fairview in the centre). Alternatively a contact could get you numbers from noticeboards in shopping centres/shops. Or worth putting an advert in the bigger schools (e.g. ISK/Braeburn) to see if a teacher or parent on leave might rent to you.

Daytrips - really worth getting out of Nairobi too for as many weekends as possible. Rift Valley. Malu farm is popular. Nakuru national park, Menengai crater. Early morning game drives. Amboseli for the weekend. Naivasha. The Mara.

PM me if you'd like to know more. Good luck

Thanks a million for replying - we will be living in the north, so will check out your suggestions. I think trying to find a temporary nanny will be our best option and will start asking around. I have a few contacts via work and found a few bulletin boards so will start leaning on them. The kids are very excited about the prospect of weekends on safari - I am very nervous about security but am hopeful it will be a great experience for us all.