wellybear wrote:Somehow I feel that I might never be able to get better as there is hardly anything in the lower grades as it is not Kiwi tough enough.

there is hope - the last few years has seen a radical re-think of things down here in chch, with several crags being re-developed as 'beginner' crags (so take your typical 'classic' port hills 14 which was initially soloed in jandals wearing a pack and has no pro, and add bolts). As a result I'm seeing a LOT more people heading outside (before we were in danger of having a generation who ONLY climbed inside)