It's often compared to an aurora, but it occurs far from the night sky.
Rare bioluminescent waves are found on beaches around New Zealand.
The phenomenon is caused by tiny blooms of phytoplankton that glow when disturbed, which is why they light up when they're hit by waves.
And more reports of bioluminescence across the motu are emerging.
"You can say the conditions for this summer have been quite favourable for phytoplankton to continue growing," says NIWA algal ecologist Karl Safi. "They seem to be increasing in incidence, people reporting them, but it could also be people just going out and looking for them more."
Grant Birley, a photographer who spends a couple of nights each week chasing bio, says he has noticed an increase in interest, particularly on social media.
"We've got a local Facebook group," he says. "First night that I actually saw it was just over two and a bit years ago, it started with 100 people and it's well over 5000 now."
He spends a lot of time on the Whangaparaoa Peninsula, north of Auckland, which he says is a popular hotspot for bioluminescence.
"We find here to be pretty productive."
Though fellow photographer Alistair Bain says bio isn't easy to find.
"It's not too common, you'd sort of only have a few opportunities a year," he says. "When you hear that it's there, it sort of doesn't matter what else is going on, you've got to be ready to pack up and go."
Matthew Davison has been chasing bio for the last decade and agrees the Whangaparaoa Peninsula is one of the best places to go.
"Right here where we are tonight is actually one of the best places i think in New Zealand - and sometimes in the world - to actually capture this natural phenomenon."
He says finding bio requires, "the Goldilocks of conditions".
"You're looking for a good rainstorm, which brings really nutrient rich sediment and run off into the ocean, and you've got to also look for really hot dry days as well, which create great conditions for the algae to really grow and bloom, and then of course you need really good tidal and wind patterns to bring the algae onto our shores here".
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