Example of using RC module with hardware SPI

[lounginghound]

I am trying to connect a RFM12 module (also known as Microchip MRF49XA) to an Mega48a using the hardware SPI port.
Of course nothing is working as planned, as with very limited documentation, I am wondering if anyone has done this using the hardware SPI rather than software SPI.
Do I need to initialise the SPI port separately, of does the RF module handle this when hardware SPI is selected?
There is no instructions on the new RF module component so everything is a bit of a guess.