David Finlay describes himself as a nature and bioluminescence enthusiast. His father describes him as a ‘chaser of light’. After speaking to him, I found him to be incredibly knowledgable about all things that glow, extremely passionate about sharing that knowledge and not at all afraid of the dark.

I was introduced to David, who lives in Kiama, through a talk on bioluminescence he did with Nature Talks at the Library (you can watch his presentation here). I had expected to settle in for an interesting hour or so and was instead left with a burning desire to track down all the glowing things. We’re lucky that in the Illawarra we don’t have to travel far to experience these incredible phenomenon.

The sea, it sparkles

Sea Sparkles are an algal bloom made of millions of single-celled dinoflagellates that can accumulate on top of the ocean. By day, this bloom looks like a thick, pink scum but by night, when agitated by waves (or by small hands), it looks a neon blue colour. That’s because the organism’s self-defence mechanism is to emit quick, bright blue flashes. What we see is hundreds of thousands of these flashes all going off at once, hence the blue glow. It’s absolutely stunning to witness and ridiculously fun to jump on the wet sand and watch as thousands of ‘stars’ explode at your feet.

While you can get Sea Sparkles at any time along the east-facing beaches up the coast, it’s tricky to predict and reliant on winds and nutrient run-off from the land, which causes the bloom to grow. But David points out that there are some places, such as bays which are more protected and easier to have the bloom funnelled into, where you are more likely to witness sea sparkles.

“After the Derwent River in Hobart, the second most prevalent place in Australia for bioluminescence would be Jervis Bay. And here we are in the Illawarra, it’s a short drive.”

The fungi, it glows

I’ve also been lucky enough to have Ghost Mushrooms pop up in my own yard. You can spot them, predominantly in bushland, around the Illawarra during April/May each year. While looking almost like oyster mushrooms by day, at night they emit a gentle blueish/white glow, which is an almost eerie green through a camera lens. Look for dead and dying trees as the mushrooms feed off them.

The damp, dark places, they glow

While David has always had an interest in science and an innate curiosity about things, his obsession with bioluminescence (living organisms that emit light) really took off when researching where to find fireflies prior to a trip to America. A bit of research showed that not only do we have fireflies here in Australia, but we have 25 native species! His lifelong passion for astronomy has meant that he’s also regularly outside at night and as a result began to witness and learn about the other glowing things, things that other people just weren’t aware of, saying, “There’s all these incredible things out there but at night, everybody cocoons themselves inside their houses. We all nest at night.”

And no, he doesn’t have his flight or fight response triggered by heading out into the dark (although a wallaby crashing through the bush might test his mettle somewhat). Instead David finds it’s a natural safe space. “I would do far more things outside at night than during the day. I feel far more scared for my welfare if I’m in the middle of the city at night. When you’re out in the bush, there’s no one else out there, they’re all tucked up in bed.”

Fireflies love the warmth, so Bomaderry is actually the southern-most limit for them. But for four weeks of the year, the last two weeks of November and the first two weeks of December, at around 8-9pm, you can see fireflies at Cascade Falls, at the bottom of Macquarie Pass. This is a spot that plenty of people visit during the day, but not heading out at night means they miss out on some spectacular experiences. Psst, David has assured me that there are also glow worms at the falls so that’s two possible bioluminescent experiences in the one night.

Not only that, but glow worms are pretty special in themselves. David says, “Here’s the thing. We don’t make a big enough deal about glow worms. Glow worms only exist on this planet in Australia and New Zealand, nowhere else.” 

He’s given me the goal to toughen up (I blame my true crime podcast addiction for my nervousness) and get out there and experience them pronto!

Now you know, how do you find the glow?

The point that David makes repeatedly is that most people don’t even know about these things because they are not out at night. There’s a whole world that you miss out on, by tucking yourself up in bed! He’s here to bang the drum for getting out there and experiencing these incredible phenomenon for yourself.

“Social media can play a huge role in getting information out. It gets such a bad rap but it’s also so good for connecting like-minded people and sharing information, and sharing it instantly. So when these things do occur you can reach out to thousands, if not tens of thousands of people and let them know,” he says.

David’s top tip is to join one of the Facebook groups that he is an admin for, Bioluminescence Australia. That way, you can get real-time alerts to sea sparkle, or locations for ghost fungi nearby. You can also just check out the often mind-blowingly beautiful photos that are posted.

David is the opposite of those photographers who keep a location secret to ensure they get the best shot. “I’m about sharing the experience with people, with friends and perfect strangers," he says. "Getting to meet people for the first time over these shared experiences.”

You can really see this in many of his stunning images, more often than not featuring other people interacting with and enjoying the environment. As he says, “I think they are far better as shared experiences, rather than isolated ones.”

So grab your buddies, log on and head out. The night and all that glows in it, is waiting for you.

To see more of David’s images, head to his instagram account @davefinlaydigital