From the Water, Aurora australis?

This was an unusual sight we saw on the East Coast of the southern island.

Rays of light heading UP from the ocean, the sun was behind us, so it was nothing to do with the sunset... we actually are very unsure of what we were looking at... was it the Aurora Australis?

Because the location of the light was so close to the water, rather than in the upper atmosphere, and the rays of light were straight rather than arcs or bands, it's very hard for us to tell. Regardless, it was an amazing and beautiful sight.