Calgary: Hammerhead Scenic Tours
Beautiful scenic drive from Calagary to Banff and Lake Louise
The BEST Tour Guide, EVER
Story by Paul Hughes, 2019
Petar Opacak may have been a young married Croatian man in his early 30s when he migrated to Calgary without even being able to speak or understand either English or French.
However today, more than 30 years later, Petar probably has more knowledge about and passion for Calgary’s history and the greater Alberta region than many people who were even born in the region.
We were fortunate to have Petar as our guide on two regional tours from Calgary in early September this year and I can say without doubt he is one of the most likeable, knowledgable and accommodating guides I have met in more than 50 years of writing about travel and tourism.
Petar runs Hammerhead Scenic Tours from his base in Calgary and, on our first tour, he picked us up from our apartment promptly at 7am in a very comfortable, clean and spacious and very comfortable seven-passenger Dodge Van Caravan. Little did we know what a wonderful 11 hours were ahead of us.
As it turned out we were the only passengers that day and in no time Petar was pointing out aspects of local life and some of the many remarkable historic and current aspects of the region that we hadn’t found in the dozens of brochures that we’d studied. Cruising along very safely (important to us) and comfortably as we headed towards Banff, he began many sentences by humbly apologising for his English, which in fact was extremely good and quite endearing, as he casually explained interesting and often anecdotal information about the places were were passing.
Petar Opacak may have been a young married Croatian man in his early 30s when he migrated to Calgary without even being able to speak or understand either English or French.
However today, more than 30 years later, Petar probably has more knowledge about and passion for Calgary’s history and the greater Alberta region than many people who were even born in the region.
We were fortunate to have Petar as our guide on two regional tours from Calgary in early September this year and I can say without doubt he is one of the most likeable, knowledgable and accommodating guides I have met in more than 50 years of writing about travel and tourism.
Petar runs Hammerhead Scenic Tours from his base in Calgary and, on our first tour, he picked us up from our apartment promptly at 7am in a very comfortable, clean and spacious and very comfortable seven-passenger Dodge Van Caravan. Little did we know what a wonderful 11 hours were ahead of us.
As it turned out we were the only passengers that day and in no time Petar was pointing out aspects of local life and some of the many remarkable historic and current aspects of the region that we hadn’t found in the dozens of brochures that we’d studied. Cruising along very safely (important to us) and comfortably as we headed towards Banff, he began many sentences by humbly apologising for his English, which in fact was extremely good and quite endearing, as he casually explained interesting and often anecdotal information about the places were were passing.
Above: With Petar (right) at the Lake Moraine glacier, and his van at the BIG dinosaur the next day.
As a tour operator, Petar is in the right business. Not only is he a very knowledgable and passionate Calgarian, he is both proudly and emotionally engaged in the history of the region as well as its wildlife and people, even expressing sadness as we passed a small animal that had been killed on the highway overnight.
We soon learned the reason why major highways in Canada are called Trails after the cattle drives that opened up the region, not realising that many of those roads today followed similar routes and the word Trails recognised that local history.
Like others before us we were in awe when Petar retold the story of the amazing marathon efforts of the 19th century Siksika Nation, or Blackfoot native Indian nicknamed “Deerfoot.”
Patar related how the Blackfoot people didn’t have horses before white people came to the region, so they grew up running long distances at speed to catch buffalo and deer for food.
Born in 1864, Api-kai-ees (meaning Scabby Dried Meat) quickly became the fastest of them all and by the time he was 16 he was recognised as an exceptional long distance athlete, taking messages for the Blackfoot Confederacy and running hundreds of kilometres between camps in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Montana in only four days. Within a few years a syndicate of local gamblers convinced Api-kai-ees to race against other runners and, while local newspapers described him as a “human thunderbolt”, the syndicate started calling him “Deerfoot”. During the following years he beat the best professional runners from as far away as Europe, howver, although undefeated, he was eventually cheated by the gamblers and quit professional running in anger.
In 1974 the government changed the freeway name from Blackfoot Trail to Deerfoot Trail in recognition of this history.
We soon learned the reason why major highways in Canada are called Trails after the cattle drives that opened up the region, not realising that many of those roads today followed similar routes and the word Trails recognised that local history.
Like others before us we were in awe when Petar retold the story of the amazing marathon efforts of the 19th century Siksika Nation, or Blackfoot native Indian nicknamed “Deerfoot.”
Patar related how the Blackfoot people didn’t have horses before white people came to the region, so they grew up running long distances at speed to catch buffalo and deer for food.
Born in 1864, Api-kai-ees (meaning Scabby Dried Meat) quickly became the fastest of them all and by the time he was 16 he was recognised as an exceptional long distance athlete, taking messages for the Blackfoot Confederacy and running hundreds of kilometres between camps in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Montana in only four days. Within a few years a syndicate of local gamblers convinced Api-kai-ees to race against other runners and, while local newspapers described him as a “human thunderbolt”, the syndicate started calling him “Deerfoot”. During the following years he beat the best professional runners from as far away as Europe, howver, although undefeated, he was eventually cheated by the gamblers and quit professional running in anger.
In 1974 the government changed the freeway name from Blackfoot Trail to Deerfoot Trail in recognition of this history.
Rare image of Deerfoot - his Trail is now one of the busiest highways in Calgary.
Petar’s stories and dates of events just kept pealing off, but in a way that was not overwhelming but seemed a natural and logical part of the tour.
We were keen to see some wildlife in its natural state if possible, particularly bears or moose and, when we had not spotted any by the time we were approaching Banff, Petar politely asked “if it was okay” for him to make a detour to where he recently saw bears. Of course it was okay and he took the long way around in an effort for us to see more wildlife!
We were keen to see some wildlife in its natural state if possible, particularly bears or moose and, when we had not spotted any by the time we were approaching Banff, Petar politely asked “if it was okay” for him to make a detour to where he recently saw bears. Of course it was okay and he took the long way around in an effort for us to see more wildlife!
He was so surprised, emotional and frustrated when we didn’t see any animals that he stopped at a particular location and showed us a photo he took of two grizzly bears confronting each other on that exact place. It was a spectacular photo (above) which he has allowed us to reproduce for this article.
We finally saw a couple of beautiful mule deer feeding at the edge of the road on the way into Banff (below left) and, although we didn't see any of the black bears, bighorn sheep, coyotes, elk, wolves or other wild animals on that day, such as the moose (below right) spotted previously by local photographer Shivam Karma, we were impressed by Petar’s genuine desire and commitment to give everyone the best possible experience.
We finally saw a couple of beautiful mule deer feeding at the edge of the road on the way into Banff (below left) and, although we didn't see any of the black bears, bighorn sheep, coyotes, elk, wolves or other wild animals on that day, such as the moose (below right) spotted previously by local photographer Shivam Karma, we were impressed by Petar’s genuine desire and commitment to give everyone the best possible experience.
There are separate articles on our visit to Calgary elsewhere on our site. The following day we again joined Petar, this time on a 10-hour tour to Drumheller and the Badlands and, although this time there were five people in the group, his personal interest in each tour member didn’t waiver, neither did the humorous banter or his fascinating knowledge of the region.
Although we usually make our own way around places we visit across the world, we have also been on many tours in dozens of destinations in more than 40 countries and have never met a tour guide who has made us feel so privileged to be in their company.
More than 1.25 million people attended the famous Calgary Stampede rodeo and festival in July this year, but most would have missed the history of the region and the amazing and sometimes hidden beauty and wizardry of Mother Nature nearby.
Whether you travelled more than 25,000 kilometres from Australia via Europe and the USA to visit Calgary as we just did, or whether you live somewhere locally, you will really enjoy seeing parts of Alberta through the eyes of Petar Opacak.
If you are heading to the Calgary or Banff regions, contact Petar from Hammerhead Scenic Tours even if you have your own car - he will show you some fantastic places and sights that are not in any of the brochures or maps!
Although we usually make our own way around places we visit across the world, we have also been on many tours in dozens of destinations in more than 40 countries and have never met a tour guide who has made us feel so privileged to be in their company.
More than 1.25 million people attended the famous Calgary Stampede rodeo and festival in July this year, but most would have missed the history of the region and the amazing and sometimes hidden beauty and wizardry of Mother Nature nearby.
Whether you travelled more than 25,000 kilometres from Australia via Europe and the USA to visit Calgary as we just did, or whether you live somewhere locally, you will really enjoy seeing parts of Alberta through the eyes of Petar Opacak.
If you are heading to the Calgary or Banff regions, contact Petar from Hammerhead Scenic Tours even if you have your own car - he will show you some fantastic places and sights that are not in any of the brochures or maps!