"Just being part of the World Cup is the highlight of my career," Best said on his return from the recent tournament in South Africa.
"We are just like players. The World Cup is our ultimate aim. It was always a dream of mine to referee at a World Cup."
Best, a telecommunications technician with Downers, was one of four New Zealand referees appointed to this year's World Cup.
Aucklander Paul Smith was appointed to the 2002 Cup in South Korea.
Best was reserve assistant for three games: Algeria v Slovenia, Nigeria v Denmark and Brazil v Portugal.
The Brazil v Portugal game ended in a 0-0 draw in front of a capacity crowd of 53,000 in Durban and was his highlight.
"I enjoyed the crowd, the atmosphere and the noise," he said.
"I enjoyed mixing with the top referees and meeting some of the well-known players in world football."
Fifa has a compulsory retirement age of 45 for international referees, and this year's tournament provided the last chance for Best (42) to make it to a World Cup.
He has been refereeing for much of the past 12 months and will take a mandatory break of two months before resuming his refereeing career.
Best, one of 90 international referees at the World Cup, wants to make the most of his last three years at the top of his sport.
He will control an Oceania tournament in New Caledonia later this year and expects to officiate at next year's South Pacific Games there.
"Qualifying games for the next World Cup will start next year," he said.
One of the talking points from the World Cup in South Africa was the use of technology to help referees.
Fifa trialled goalline technology when Best controlled the Club World Cup in Japan in 2008.
"It worked well," Best said.
"But it would be far too expensive to use on a large scale."
The technology was trialled in Europe last year and will be used in qualifying games for this year's Champions League.
It is written into Best's contract that he is not allowed to comment on the use of technology at the World Cup.
Best began refereeing when was a pupil at Waitaki Boys' High School in 1985 and became a fulltime referee seven years later.
He has been on the Fifa list since 2004 and controlled his first international at a pre-World Cup tournament for Oceania in Tahiti in 2006.
