I am a noob but i always buy good quality kit no matter what it's for.
Manfrotto are basically the best band you can get, all my gear apart from from gorillapod (focus and slr) is Manfrotto
Tripods come in two parts the legs and the head, the legs are what takes the weight and the head dictates the movement on the legs.
Basically you need to make sure the tripod legs are strong enough to take the weight of your gear, try and put too much weight on the legs and you get an unstable base which negates the point of the tripod.
Less sections are more stable than more but comes at the price of size, cost also influences weight of the tripod e.g. carbon fibre legs, but then you don't have to carry as much weight.
In terms of head, ball head is generally the best if you're only buying one head, a two or three way allows you to move in an axis whilst keeping the other locked (think smooth pan or tilt), from here up you get exotic heads like gears macro and panoramic heads.
There are plenty of other brands are redsnapper offer a very good value range, gizitos and hama too, but my advice would be workout the weight of your gear and go from there.
Accessories wise, a tripod bag is good for protecting your stuff and making it easier to carry, you could just get a carry strap, quick release plates are handy too.
