Due to the time limitations, I wouldn’t recommend driving. Driving distances between the places you want to see are far.

If you’re flying into Queenstown, you probably want to spend a three or four nights there. Go up the gondola, do the luge, do ziptrek, check out the ice bar, take a cruise, do a farm visit etc. You can do your skydiving in Queenstown. You can take a day trip to nearby towns or to Milford Sound if you are interested in that.

I’m not sure you’d be able to see the Southern lights at this time of year - you might have to do more research on that.

After Queenstown, I’d fly direct to Rotorua. You can do glowworm cave tours there. There’s also the Maori cultural experiences there.

Visit Rotorua and possibly get a rental car to Hobbiton, then drive up to Auckland.

All my NZ posts 🙂 I was there for 2 weeks. But iono how the weather will be When you go coz I did a lot of outdoor/ hiking stuff when I went.

https://serenaslenses.net/category/travel/oceania/new-zealand/

Yesss the glowworm caves are amazing!! I recommend going with Spellbound Tours - it's smaller, more intimate, and less crowded so you can get better pics :) You can see mine here:

https://www.commonplays.com/glowworms/

Hobbiton is also super memorable. I didn't drive in the North Island, so I took a bus to Matamata and they had another bus that picks people up from there :) You should try buying tickets online in advance, since times can sell out quickly. Wrote about it here if you're curious!

https://www.commonplays.com/hobbiton/