Voi

The Voi skyline is changing rapidly, a sign of investor confidence in the future of the town.

Voi is a marketplace for agricultural and meat products from the fertile Taita Hills as well as the surrounding areas.[1] Voi's town centre consists mostly of general stores, shops, markets, kiosks and hotels. Most lodges that service tourists for the national parks are located in the suburbs at the edge of town. The Voi Sisal Estates are located to the west of the town.

Hotels in the area include Andymac Palace, Panlis Resort, Augustine George Resort, Impala Hotel, Vacani Resort, Ndololo Camp, Voi Safari Lodge, Voi Wildlife Lodge, Joy Hotel, Afrika Lodges, and Leopards Lodge. Nearby restaurants include Asenali, Homeboys, Bakri, Distarr Hotel, Swahili Dishes, Fine breeze, Petro and Caltex. Supermarkets such as Bafagih being a first class supermarket Jai Hari, Shake Distributors, New Generation, and Anand can also be found in Voi.

Voi existed even before the arrival of the Portuguese, Arabs and other visitors at the Kenyan Coast. However, some citations have it that the town started to grow at the end of the 19th century when the Uganda Railway was constructed. People started to move in to work on the railway and the nearby sisal estates.[3] However, township status with an area of about 16.27 square kilometres (6.28 sq mi)[4] was not granted until 1932. The town has long since outgrown the original grant.[1]

Voi has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSh).

The Municipality is divided into six wards.

• Marungu
• Sagalla
• Mbololo
• Kaloleni
• Ngolia
• Kasigau

Each ward elects one Member of the County Assembly (MCA) who represents her/his ward in the County Assembly for 5 years.

Voi is a major tourist hub. It neighbors the world-famous Tsavo East National Park, and the entrance to the park is near the town. Hotels such a Lion Hill Safari Lodge, Ndololo Camp, Voi Safari Lodge, Voi Wildlife Lodge are all located near the park gate and ten minutes drive from the town. Joy Hotel, Afrika Lodges, Vacani Resort, Impala Lodge and Leopards Lodge are near-by within the town's vicinity. There are nice restaurants; Asenali, Homeboys, Bakri, Distarr Hotel, Swahili Dishes, Fine breeze, Petro and Caltex. Supermarkets such as Bafagih, Jai Hari, Shake Distributors, New Generation, and Anand can also be found in Voi.

Internet services are available from several internet cafes in town. There is 4G mobile phone coverage in Voi and its environs.

Voi features as a setting for two levels of the first-person shooter Xbox 360 console game Halo 3. Halo 3 takes place late in the year 2552, wherein Voi is depicted as formerly having been a heavily industrialized, sprawling city - vastly different from the real and present Voi. According to the backstory, the nearby city of Mombasa, renamed New Mombasa, has become a final port of call for spacefaring traffic. To take advantage of its fortuitous proximity to New Mombasa, Voi refocused its resources from agriculture and tourism to the more lucrative pursuit of heavy industry. This shift resulted in major expansion of the town, which eventually absorbed the surrounding towns of Gutini, Ikanga, and Mariwenyi. The geography of the area has also been altered in the fictional version of Voi. Global warming has caused massive flooding of plains around the city of New Mombasa. Rather than a catastrophe, authorities viewed this event as an opportunity, and excavated a channel leading far inland to Voi. As a result, Voi became an inland port city, subsidising road transport of cargo to New Mombasa.

By the time of the events in the game, Voi has been almost entirely destroyed by ruthless excavation by the Covenant, the invading extraterrestrial enemy of humanity. Only an extant sliver of warehouse complexes, which hints at the former existence of Voi, is encountered within the game. The Taita Hills to the west are also used extensively in other levels within the game. A subterranean military base is located in one of the Taita hills, specifically Chawia hill, located between Mlegwa and Mwatate.