Magic awaits at Karroo Hotel
Teresa Opperman
Tammy Southby, also known by her Facebook profile Sunshine Simplicities, recently visited the Karroo Theatrical
Hotel in Steytlerville and raves about the establishment. She was so impressed with the experience that she contacted the Advertiser to share it.
“Prepare to immerse yourself in an evening of vibrance, music, laughter, delicious cuisine and decadent flamboyance with the Steytlerville Follies,” she said.
She urged visitors to this establishment to take a step back in time when entering this world of fantasy, mystery and burlesque frivolities at the Grimaldi Theatre Hall as Freddy Ferrari and Dame Leyla Lamborghini take them on a musical journey through time.
“My sister and I were invited with my mom's group of friends at their retirement complex in Port Elizabeth, the Finlandia Ladies, to her birthday coffee in January.
One of the ladies present came up with the idea to travel to Steytlerville, and within minutes it was all set.
“This wonderful bunch of ladies also invited myself and my sister to join them from 12 to14 April.”
The Karroo Theatrical Hotel comes with its own colourful history
A century ago, Steytlerville was a buzzing town of social festivities, until one of the church counsellor's sons got a little carried away. Apparently the father stepped in, and alcohol was banned.
In 1943 the Karroo Hotel was built just beyond the municipal boundary as a subtle revolt to this by-law.
Over time, things took a nasty turn as the establishment’s reputation began to languish until finally the building fell into a state of disrepair.
Mark Hinds and Jacques Rabie relocated to the Karoo 21 years ago, and took the bold move to transform the forlorn and deserted building into what is now a world of enchantment and magic.
The operators set out several conditions for resuming the service, which included the full payment for the January to March invoices that are outstanding.
According to a news release that was circulated by the transport operators to the headmasters of the affected schools, they have run out of money and resources to deliver this service as they have not been paid since the beginning of the year.
The operators stated that numerous letters from their side to engage with the Eastern Cape Department of Transport, have not yielded any results and no meetings have been accepted by the department either.
In a Facebook announcement on 9 April, the department said that all outstanding, legitimate and verified scholar transport invoices were to be settled within two weeks of the date of that announcement. It was also confirmed that at least 40% of the submitted invoices have been verified and were ready for payment on 9 April, but to date the complainants in the mentioned areas have not received any payment form the department.
One of the headmasters confirmed that he received a message from a transport operator saying that all the operators were