Just to pick up on gateman's point, you should def. do an 'official' lesson with an instructor. They should cover most if not all of the below points:
http://www.ikointl.com/iko.php?page=discovery-kiteboarder-program.php¤t_menu_area=30www.ikointl.com/iko.php?page=intermediate-kiteboarder-program.php¤t_menu_area=30In terms of importance... I would not recommend anyone going out by themselves if they can't at the very least do a self rescue (on the water), body drag up wind, know how to activate the quick release, and be given a full run down of the other safety features.
Perhaps you could book a little trip down to Perth or somewhere with lessons just to cover the basics. It's really not something you can teach yourself without the safety basics... just my tuppence worth...