hi
i'm new to kitesurfing and after spending the long weekend with friends on a roadtrip kitesurfing at old bar in nsw, i absolutely want to get into this sport! seems like big kids can fly after all... :)

I was lucky enough to get lessons from an experienced friend, i had a go carefully flying his kite in low wind (with help as it's too strong/big for me to control alone), and bodydragged also.
(i've been present when someone i knew got into a bad situation a few years ago with a kite off ebay with no lessons, and am definately going to take it slow and make sure i have recent gear that's safe, and fly it with these friends who can give me lessons on it!)

i'm looking to get a kite that's the right size for me to learn on- i'm a 60kg 172cm tall girl, with a bit of experience sailing but i haven't snowboarded etc before...

I can see the advantage recent gear has over kites from a few years back- my main question is whether 2010 is a big step up from 2009, and would i notice it as a beginner? It seems to be a good time to get 2010 gear as people are upgrading, but 2009 is still a fair bit cheaper, and the few hundered dollars will definately make the difference right now! I'm roughly looking at a (second hand) 9m kite, does that seem right? I'll be learning on the east coast of NSW around Sydney to Nelson Bay over the next few months.

I'll be in Montreal Canada for a year next year too, does anyone know if the sport is very big there and would conditions be similar to suit the same sized kite?

I can borrow a board and harness for the next few months, (just to make the most of the aussie summer until i leave), and will then look into buying these in montreal once northern summer hemnisphere comes around and i've saved up a bit :)

Any advice on good brands/makes of kite to buy secondhand, any differences between them I should know about would be awesome.

Thanks! :)