Midmar is a great sailing dam located Near the small town of Howick in the Natal Midlands. It is a beautiful spot for a day out whether you´re just enjoying the sun and surrounds or involved in some kind of water sport.
Midmar is well known as a sailing dam and if you sail catamarans, dinhies or small keelers, it is a brilliant location. There is almost always a bit of wind and at a guess I would say it gets up on average to around 12 knots just about every day.
For windsurfing, it is a bit less reliable... especially if you're looking for winds around 18 knots and more. It happens, to be sure, but you can't bank on it and if you sail smallish slalom kit or worse, you may be disappointed.
Having said that, when it is good, it is GOOD. It seriously rocks and sometimes the wind blasts here. When there is enough, the reaches are long, the water safe and clean and usually a very pleasant temperature. The surroundings are stunning and a decent sharp 2 foot swell can build on a good day to provide pretty good air for "flat" water.
From the South (Durban / Pietermaritzburg) take the Howick / Falls offramp, turn immediately left (you will see the dam wall an dam in front of you on the left) and then, after a few metres, right again so you drive down parallel to the N3 with the dam wall on your left. Drive passed the wall and around the corner out of site of it until you see the midmar gates on your left.
From the North (Mooiriver / Johannesburg) take the Howick North / Tweedie offramp, turn right across the freeway and follow this road until you get to a T-junction with a petrol station / shop on your left. Turn left here, pass Fern Hill hotel on your left and shortly after, arrive at the midmar gates on your right.
It is, however, at present the hang-out spot of the Midmar kiting crew. There is quite a busy bunch of kitesurf boys that are based at midmar. They're not a bad bunch (from what I can tell) but, of course, they get going in waaay less wind so they're bound to piss you off while you're slogging and they're screaming past.
I would say Eikedal is best on a SW. Not bad on an E and crap on any of the berg winds (N, NW).
Traditional windsurf hang out spot. Lacking a bit of shade close to the water as lots of trees have been cleared prior to the dam expansion. Lots of space, though, and braais, shade etc too. Also no fishing / powered craft so generally free of other annoyances to the windsurfing types but music is allowed and (on rare occasions) the word is stretched to the limits of it's definition by some patrons.
Good in an E wind (the one from the dam wall), good in a SE (the one from orient park) and pretty good in a SW although sometimes light on the inside. Crap in berg winds (N/NW), don't even try it. You will be swimming back to shore, because it is so gusty and unpredictable.
I imagine it is good in most wind directions and i know that in the SW, it is best to cut upwind (from Blackhurst) until you are sailing roughly 200m downwind of Hobie point. It seems the SW (according to Ghostrider) is channeled through at this point and is at its strongest and most reliable here.
Access is the next turn off left after Morgenzon.
Then there is the boat hire shop where, again, basic refreshments as well as stuff like firewood (I think) and charcoal.
Opposite Midmar entrance is a seedy cafe where you can buy most things that cafes stock, including beer.
At the T-junction between Midmar and the Howick North turn off, there is a petrol station and shop with a slightly larger selection, but equally seedy.
I can't tell you where to get jetski / boat oil / petrol. If you want that you should be at Albert Falls dam, not at midmar. Go away with your smelly, noisy craft will you??
The camping is very pleasant on nice soft grass with pretty good facilities. Over public holidays it is naturally a little packed but not excessively so. This is a big dam with plenty of space for all. Morgenzon is not a bad place to launch from for most wind directions, but be clever and don't camp and launch too far into the bay because the wind, she's not so good there.