Our story

Not a standard resort. A place built from the ground up.

Mida Creek Nature Camp was founded in 2018 by Harrison, after years of working as a builder and labourer for different construction companies. During those years he learned the value of practical skill, patience and hard work, but he also carried a clear idea with him: one day, he wanted to build something of his own.

What started as a small plant shop slowly became something more ambitious. Using his own hands and the traditional building knowledge he had acquired over time, Harrison began to shape a nature camp close to the lagoon, the mangroves and the village life of Mida Creek.

2018 · The beginning

A camp made with local materials and traditional skills

Harrison built the first tree house and the main structure by relying on the skills he already had: practical construction work, local knowledge and traditional methods used along the Kenyan coast.

The camp was not planned as a polished resort imported from outside. It grew from the materials, techniques and environment around it: mud, straw, timber, makuti tiles and the kind of craftsmanship that belongs to the place itself.

2019 · A wider audience

From a hidden local place to the online travel world

At the beginning, it was not easy to be noticed. Around the coast there were already many established places, often supported by foreign investment and larger budgets. Harrison had no such backing. What he had was the camp, his work and a strong belief in what the place could become.

In 2019, a turning point came when Mattia, an Italian traveller, arrived at the camp almost by chance at the end of his trip. That meeting helped Harrison bring Mida Creek Nature Camp onto online travel and booking platforms.

Slowly, the camp became easier to find. Travellers began to arrive, leave reviews, share photos and talk about a place that felt genuine, close to nature and deeply connected to the local community.

Experiences and guests

The camp grew through people, nature and shared moments

Social media helped the camp grow, but the real strength of Mida Creek Nature Camp has always been the experience itself. Many guests arrived for a few nights and left feeling that they had taken part in something more personal than a standard stay.

From the beginning, travellers were especially drawn to the nature-based experiences around the creek. Canoe rides through the mangroves opened a quiet, unforgettable view of Mida Creek: birds, tidal channels, reflections on the water and the feeling of moving slowly through a living coastal landscape.

Another experience soon became part of the camp’s identity: Harrison’s well-known cooking class. Guests did not simply watch a demonstration. They learned local Kenyan cooking knowledge, handled ingredients, shared preparation methods and discovered food as a way into everyday community life.

Harrison has a natural way of involving people: a canoe ride, a meal, a village visit, a new idea, a small project, a conversation around the camp. The result is a stay that often feels spontaneous, warm and connected to the everyday life of Mida Creek.

Covid period · Community support

When tourism stopped, the community did not

During the Covid period, tourism almost disappeared. For a small independent camp, that could have meant simply waiting and hoping. Instead, Harrison and Mattia organised a GoFundMe campaign to help the surrounding villages during the most difficult months.

Many former guests responded with generosity. Thanks to their support, the camp helped organise weekly distributions of food and basic necessities for members of the nearby communities.

It was a difficult time, but it also showed what kind of relationship had grown around the camp: not just customers and bookings, but people who remembered the place and wanted to stand by it.

Step by step

From two simple rooms to a more comfortable camp

In the early days, the camp was basic in the most literal sense. There were only two rooms, no electricity, no private bathrooms, one shared bathroom and a simple camping shower.

Step by step, using the income generated by the camp itself, Harrison and his team have improved the place. Today the camp offers four cared-for rooms, private bathrooms, running water and solar charging, while keeping the same independent and locally rooted identity.

2024 · The lagoon restaurant

A new place to eat, meet and look out over the water

In 2024, the camp opened a restaurant as part of the Mida Creek Nature Camp project. Built directly facing the lagoon, it became a natural extension of the camp: a place where guests can slow down, share a meal and enjoy the view of the creek.

The restaurant offers home-made meals, local flavours and a relaxed open-air atmosphere. It is not only a place to eat, but also a place for conversation, conviviality and the simple pleasure of spending time together close to the mangroves.

Like the rest of the camp, the restaurant has grown step by step, shaped by available resources, practical work and the same idea that started everything: creating something genuine, welcoming and connected to Mida Creek.

Today

Still independent. Still improving. Still part of Mida Creek.

Mida Creek Nature Camp continues without outside capital or large investors. Its growth depends on the hard work of Harrison, his staff and the people who choose to stay, eat, visit and book experiences here.

The road is still long. The camp faces the pressure of larger foreign-funded competitors, the everyday challenges of a small independent business and the growing impact of climate change along the coast.

But the direction remains the same: to improve little by little, protect the eco-friendly spirit of the camp and keep welcoming travellers in a way that feels personal, human and connected to Mida Creek.