So says Andrew ''Needles'' Neething, one of an eight-strong team of professional riders from France, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom in the resort for the duration of the 10-day festival.
Neething, who hails from the South African town of Somerset West, near Cape Town, is one of a small army of top-class international riders mixing it with locals in events such as the enduro, dirtmasters downhill, super D enduro and the slopestyle.
The genial 30-year-old arrived on Monday with seven Polygon UR team-mates, as well as a 10-strong support crew of bike mechanics, managers, photographers and videographers.
His first trip to the resort was exceeding his already high expectations.
''I'm absolutely blown away and loving it.
''I heard the riding is great all over New Zealand, but until you get here and ride the trails, you just don't realise how good it is.''
It is the fourth year in a row the team has come to Queenstown to fine-tune its preparation before the ''serious stuff'' starts next month, at the World Cup in France.
He was excited about his specialist super D (downhill) event today and tomorrow but had ''no expectations''.
''There are a lot of people who know this mountain better than me.''
