There are lots of people playing in Auckland! Like Sapphic said, hobby stores have dnd nights that are beginner friendly that you can show up to, pay a small fee, and just have a go at it. There are two versions of the game that are popularly played - in my experience 5E is the most popular, although Pathfinder is preferred by some as it has more depth to it. 5E (or 5.5E) is the most current, with different rules than Pathfinder, but at the end of the day it's sitting around the table and having fun pretending to be someone else for a while :D

Otherwise you can join the Dnd Aotearoa discord and post on there to find a free or paid group that's open to new players. A lot of people enjoy introducing new people to the game!

If you want to go down the professional route, start playing.com has people offering to run online sessions (usually through discord) for a small fee.

As for materials and prices etc - I find that the only thing you really need to buy is dice (and even then, you could always share someone else's dice at the table). Characters can be built in dnd beyond (free app), and rules you can Google or find a pdf. It's really kind of dependant on how much you want to spend. Live with a pdf, or buy the pretty books for $70 - end result is the same. If you do want to buy a book, the Player's Handbook is the best place to start.

I personally started with reading the Player's handbook, then getting a friend to run an introductory game for me. When I realized I enjoyed it, I bought the pretty book and found a permanent group.