<Tr> <Th> Benches </Th> <Td> Lord Howe Rise </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Settlements </Th> <Td> Newcastle, Sydney, Wollongong, Auckland, Wellington, Hobart </Td> </Tr> <P> The Tasman Sea (Māori: Te Tai - o - Rehua, Pitcairn - Norfolk: Tasman Sii) is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand . It measures about 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) across and about 2,800 kilometres (1,700 mi) from north to south . The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, who was the first recorded European to encounter New Zealand and Tasmania . The British explorer Captain James Cook later extensively navigated the Tasman Sea in the 1770s as part of his first voyage of exploration . </P> <P> The Tasman Sea is informally referred to in both Australian and New Zealand English as The Ditch; for example, crossing the Ditch means travelling to Australia from New Zealand, or vice versa . The diminutive term "The Ditch" used for the Tasman Sea is comparable to referring to the North Atlantic Ocean as "The Pond". </P>

Which water body separates australia from new zealand