A veteran volunteer on the Whanganui River has given the gift of life to the Department of Conservation.
Murray Ware, who has canoed the river 33 times, has donated a defibrillator for John Coull Hut on the river.
Mr Ware is a long-term volunteer hut ranger at John Coull and recently had a health scare himself while on the river.
His connection goes back to 1979 and his first canoe trip on the river.
A member of the Whanganui River Rats he has canoed the river 33 times and began volunteering at Tieke Kainga and John Coull Hut for DOC in the 1980s. He volunteers as a hut ranger each summer over the busy tourist season.