The key to understanding Gondwana dispersal as a whole is in getting to grips with the complexity of structures and events off SE Africa. As explained in Animation K, the relative movements of Antarctica and Africa are, in turn, central to this. Here is a summary of events as we see them from Early Jurassic to the end of the Early Cretaceous as evidenced in the AAC and its surroundings off SE Africa. To emphasise the changing growth direction at the mid-ocean ridge within the AAC, Euler small circles at intervals of 2 degrees are shown in the animation for each of the Antarctica-Africa interval poles in the geometrical model.

184.2 Ma (start Toarcian) The first movement of East Gondwana against West Gondwana is in the direction defined by the row of prominent deep-seated (5-10 km) intrusions below the coastal plains of Tanzania revealed by aeromagnetic survey. East of Lebombo, this direction is N145degE in present-day Africa coordinates, i.e. dextral transtension. The direction is approximately normal to the southernmost Precambrian rocks of Zimbabwe and Northern Mozambique.

154.94 Ma (end Oxfordian) By this time Madagascar has travelled SE with respect to Africa by 360 km and is now able to move S instead of SE. Further south there has been a similar amoount of extension and ocean growth off Zimbabwe and Northern Mozambique while, off Lebombo, there has been only about 165 km of extension normal to Lebombo with about 330 km of dextral movement. The model never puts this E-W extension into reverse here. East Gondwana now moves south in a direction parallel to the rifting direction revealed by aeromagnetic survey in the coastal regions of Northern Mozambique. East of Lebombo this is N165degE. The velocity of movement (i.e. ocean growth) increases from about 12 km/My to about 38 km/My with the change of direction. East Gondwana still intact.

150 Ma (Kimmeridgian) Southward ridge jump immediately west of the AAC to a new location immediately north of Limpopia. Perhaps the final stage of the ridge reorganisation seeded by the change in spreading direction. Almost all of the extended magmatic crust created 184 to 150 Ma W of the AAC abandoned on the Africa plate, now below the Mozambique Plains. A step-like mid-ocean ridge about 1300 km long now lies at about 45 degrees to the growth direction in the AAC. The SW end of this mid-ocean ridge is now south of Cape St Lucia so the Antarctica plate is free to move and grow in a slightly more westerly direction.

142.3 Ma (Berriasian) Onset of fragmentation in East Gondwana with Madagascar-India starting to rotate counter-clockwise from Antarctica-Australia (see Animation P). Rifting off Western Australia led to an ocean growth-rate there of 33 km/My by M0 time (121.4 Ma). Transtensional rifting off SE India was much slower, tapering to 13 km/My rift extension and ocean growth through the Strait of Mannar by this time.

circa 137 Ma (Valanginian) Maurice Ewing Bank (MEB) and Limpopia now alongside each other and show dextral strike-slip relative movement. MEB already dislodged from its fit position on Africa. Limpopia starts to dislodge from Antarctica.

circa 125 Ma (Barremian) Rotation of Antarctica with respect to Africa now at its most rapid with a rotation pole as close as Namibia. Rate of ocean growth in the AAC is well constrained by marine magnetic anomalies, meticulously surveyed by König and Jokat (2010), until M0. Further constraints provided by (a) keeping the proto-Owen FZ between India and Somalia strictly strike-slip and (b) the known rate of growth of the Weddell Sea (marine magnetic anomalies) between Antarctica and the 'sole' of the Malvinas plateau. The model maintains a steady rate of movement (about 45 km/My) of this plateau along the Agulhas fault to make room for the observed growth of the extant half of the Weddell Sea and its inferred mirror image. Long offset transform immediately E of Limpopia changes abruptly to a more clockwise orientation. Limpopia now firmly fixed to Africa while MEB continues westward.

117.3 Ma (Aptian) Madagascar and India come to rest with respect to Africa with the demise of the mid-ocean ridge off Somalia. Ocean growth between Madagascar and Antarctica fully under way as the mid-ocean ridge in the AAC joins to that separating India and Antarctica. Same rotation pole describes Aantarctica-Africa and India-Antarctica motions. Growth of ocean in the AAC through the Cretaceous Quiet Zone (devoid of marine magnetic anomalies) is kept constant at about 58 km/My.

More detail about the activities of the smaller fragments west of the AAC and around the Bouvet plume head are given in Animations L, M, N and O.