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Bruce Ndlovu
WHILE it has always been one of those tourist attractions that, on any given day, are always teeming with visitors from across the globe, Victoria Falls has never been known for possessing a particularly exciting nightlife.

Being a resort town, the pace with which life moves in Victoria Falls is leisurely and the nights are as calm and incident free as the days are. If one expects tourists and sightseers who calmly walk the streets in the day, taking in some of the world’s most wondrous sights and sounds, to transform into party animals by night they would be sadly mistaken.

Except for the last three days of every year when the Victoria Falls Carnival rolls into town, hard partying is not something that comes naturally to the town. This is mainly due to the fact that the town has a limited number of nightspots, with no major clubs at all in the town centre.

However, a pair of Victoria Falls natives is looking to change this. Club Nitrus, founded by the duo of Sam Sibanda and Kudakwashe Mataga, is set to make its debut on March 17 when it opens its doors to the public.

While the club itself is new, the two men behind it are not novices, having run the now defunct Explorers Night Club. Their experience at the helm of Explorers has left them with the belief that they know what it takes to make Victoria Falls come out to play.

“We’re not new to this and that’s why we believe that Club Nitrus will be a success. This is a new club, but this is familiar terrain for us,” said Sibanda, one of the founders of the new joint.

Despite perceptions that Victoria Falls is an expensive town, Sam said the club would not be looking to woo society’s elite only. In a town that people can be divided between the haves and have-nots, Nitrus will try to be the middle ground where everyone from all spheres of society can come together to enjoy a fun night out.

“We don’t want to cater for the elite, but at the same time we also don’t want to cater for unruly elements. What we want to do with Club Nitrus is to present an environment where everyone can come and enjoy a fun and peaceful night out,” he said.

Like other towns around Zimbabwe, Victoria Falls has seen a high turnover of clubs, with joints opening and closing all the time. As a new baby on the town’s night scene, Club Nitrus is determined to go the distance this time around.

“We’re going to be occupying a unique position because as you well know, Victoria Falls hardly has any clubs and this is not because people don’t want to go out. We’re trying to change that perception and the advantage that we have this time is that the club is well situated,” he said.

Club Nitrus will be situated at what used to be Croc Rock, a once popular club run by Peter Mubi, the current proprietor of Bulawayo’s Cape to Cairo.

Sibanda said the joint would not dwell on the shadow of its predecessor, which dominated at the turn of the century, but instead would endeavour to chart its own history and create a new and exciting atmosphere for revellers.

However, despite all his positivity, Sibanda is aware of some problems that stunt the growth of nightspots whenever they begin operating in the resort town.

“The reasons why there’re few clubs and why those that are operating can just close suddenly are different and varied. The problems mostly come from the fact that we rent or lease whatever buildings we operate from and you can’t do anything once the owners decide to do something else with their property.

“For example, we had to close down Explorers after the owner told us he wanted to renovate the place,” he said.

Turning to the launch, Sibanda said they were still in the process of compiling a roster of artistes whose presence would truly underline the fact that a new wonder has been born in a town filled with them. However, despite the fact that the official opening was slated for next Friday, Sibanda said the joint might open next Wednesday for a trial run.